


Crystal

by Rahar_Moonfire



Series: Warmth [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha!Keith, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Sex, Coran is a crazy uncle, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Glara!Keith, Hunk and Lance are bros, Knotting, Lance and Allura are siblings, M/M, Pidge is a girl but doesn't care what pronoun is used, Prince Lotor is a dick, Sendak is an insidious bastard, Shiro Is Still Space Dad, Slow Burn, Some canon incest between minor characters, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), altean!lance, klance, klance relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-09
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-08-30 00:10:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 42
Words: 133,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8511271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rahar_Moonfire/pseuds/Rahar_Moonfire
Summary: The Castle is old. Malfunctions are to be expected. Air locks spontaneously opening, attacking food, false alarms in the middle of sex... Actually, Lance is sure that last one was Allura's doing. But the malfunctions seem to be increasing in frequency and magnitude, until more than one paladin begins to hear a voice they never wanted to hear again. Lance ignore the slew of emotional problems and increasing number of malfunctions in favor of rebuilding his web of spies to aid his sister and Team Voltron's fight against Zarkon and the Galra Empire. Pity no one thought to mention constantly brushing small problems aside doesn't make them go away. They stay and fester and grow into a poison that devours the mind and soul from the inside out resulting in emotional outbursts that could spell the end to not one, but two paladins.Meanwhile, Iverson is trying to juggle being a whistle blower and finding out the truth of what happened to two cadets who vanished on his watch. Even if it means breaking the law.   Chapter 41 summary: In which shrooms and Vulcans are trippy, Team Voltron gets the juniberry talk, and Allura finds out about Lance's side of the deal with Rolo and Nyma.





	1. Hint

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** And so it begins. This is a short chapter because today (Tuesday) was a long day. If you live in the United States, you know why. I'm going to bed now and hide in my blankets.

This was the worst part of the job. This was why he’d requested to work with cadets in the first place. Cadets weren’t sent out into the field until they were old enough and had the experience needed to keep themselves alive. Losing not one but two cadets in one night without any explanation from the higher-ups was an outrage.

Then there was that unscheduled 'training exercise' that took place just after that meteor struck the ground not far from the Galaxy Garrison’s west coast facility. It made no sense and the tight-lipped higher-ups were beginning to piss Commander Malcolm Iverson the fuck off. When he demanded they tell him what happened to his two cadets who were his responsibility to begin with, he’d been told not so politely that sometimes accidents happen, to fuck off, and mind his own business.

They hadn’t even let him give the news to the distraught parents who deserved to know what had happened to their babies. No parent deserved to live in that terrible limbo of knowing something had happened to your child but unable to find out what. Many chose to hold out hope that their child lived, when more often than not this wasn’t the case. Those who chose to accept their child’s death often suffered for years afterwards. But that aside, no one deserved to live in oblivion going on about their day when their child could be in danger.

When he’d brought up that particular point to the higher-ups, they had given him some bullshit ‘classified, need-to-know only' excuse. They all knew something important had happened last night and Iverson was ready to swear up and down that it had something to do with that meteor. If it really was a meteor in the first place.

The flying yellow lion he’d seen the next day lent credence to his doubts and had certainly caught the students’ attention. Something as strange and obviously not normal as that couldn’t just be swept under the rug. Trying to just threw even more shade on the events from the past week and a half. Several students managed to get videos of the flying lion and uploaded them to the Internet. Naturally the videos were soon removed. But everyone knew that once something was uploaded to the Internet, it could never really be removed.

Thankfully, Iverson had done his damnedest to make a montage of the many videos, reports, and intercepted communiques he could get his hands on. Now he was sitting in a study room at a college with everything he had been able to gather loaded on a flash drive, his laptop open on the table in front of him so his back was to the wall, and waiting for the call that would most likely cost him his livelihood. But this wasn’t about him. It was about two cadets who vanished and an attempt to cover up their disappearance. This wasn’t how he preferred to get the information out there, but it the only choice he had left.

The video call rang, and he picked up.

* * *

 

He woke up slowly, taking his time returning to consciousness. It was warm and comfortable here. He was almost certain this wasn’t his bed. Suddenly he was fully awake and aware. His body tingled and his mind was slightly foggy from the abrupt awakening, but he was clear headed enough to know the sheets and blankets he was currently entangled in were not his.

There was also another body in bed with him. Keithek shifted minutely so he could look down. Messy brown hair and skin a shade or so lighter met his eyes. The sight brought a smile to his face. He couldn’t resist the urge to lean down and press a kiss to his mate’s hair, loving the scent of Lance. The faintest hint of smoke was still in Lance’s hair, but Keith could also smell the prince’s shampoo and conditioner. Lance must have taken a shower sometime last night.

Keithek couldn’t remember much after pulling out of Lance. He must have fallen asleep. He closed his eyes in shame. That was never what he had intended. He had wanted to curl around his mate and ease him to sleep. But apparently that didn’t happen.

He regretted being unable to stay awake after his first time making love to his own mate. That wasn’t something he would remember with pride. But at least he would have the memory of Lance’s pleasured face engraved in his memory.

Lance's voice wasn’t something he’d forget either. Keithek decided he much preferred Lance calling him by his full name in bed. Hearing his name burst from his mate’s mouth in the midst of the throes of passion was definitely something he appreciated. He wouldn’t mind hearing that again.

Lance shifted then, pressing closer to Keithek’s side as if trying to burrow into the red paladin’s heat. Keithek smirked and pressed light kisses on Lance’s ear, running his free hand down his mate’s back. His fingers traced every nob of his mate’s spine, all the way down to the curve of Lance’s bottom.

A faint groan met his ears accompanied by a weak swat. Keithek chuckled and moved his fingers up to the soft skin of Lance’s side, drawing formless designs there.

“Good morning,” he whispered against his mate’s ear.

Again, he was met by another swat and a tired mumble.

“We should get up before your sister sends someone to check on you,” Keithek said.

Lance groaned and rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in his pillow. Lance certainly wasn’t a morning person, that’s for sure. Keithek leaned down so his body covered his mate like a blanket and pressed his lips to the back of Lance’s neck, scraping his teeth against the skin.

“Mine,” he whispered.

Lance’s soft inhale didn’t escape his acute hearing, nor did the blush escape his night vision. Come to think of it, it was dark in here. How late was it?

Keithek lifted his gaze to the view screen window and noticed it was turned off. He snickered. So Lance didn’t like sunlight in his eyes either. Good to know.

“You need to get up,” Keithek said.

“No,” Lance mumbled.

“I’ll help you.”

“Quiznak you.”

“You really aren’t a morning person, are you?” Keithek teased.

He face promptly met the backside of Lance’s hand.

“Alright fine,” he grumbled, crawling out of bed. “Stay in bed. But if Allura asks after you, I’ll tell her you were too done in to get up.”

To Keithek’s surprise, Lance didn’t rise to the bait like he’d expected. Instead, the prince snuggled deeper into the warm spot Keithek left behind and pulled the blankets tight around him. It was adorable. Keithek shook his head in amusement and got dressed. He would report to the mess hall or wherever Allura or Shiro were and see if he or Lance needed to do anything that day before they left the Balmera.

“Sleep well, Lance,” Keithek called.

If a ship wide alarm blared to life a half tock later effectively scaring the prince badly enough to send his tumbling off the bed, Keithek wasn’t to blame.

* * *

 

Shiro stood in front of the cryopod grimly. There was so much they needed to know and the prisoner frozen in stasis in the pod held all the answers they needed. Unfortunately, interrogating the prisoner using traditional methods wasn’t an option. Allura mentioned possibly using the memory core technology to extract the prisoner’s memories and sift through them like a program on a computer. Coran was against the idea, but he’d been overruled.

Team Voltron needed as much information as they could get right now if they had any hope of making an impact against Zarkon’s armies. They were off to a good start, but that wouldn’t mean anything if something happened to one of their team members. If they lost just one paladin, then they would be unable to form Voltron. If they lost Allura, then the Lions would be inoperable which, again, meant no Voltron. If they lost Coran, then they would lose their mentor and emotional support.

Shiro had spoken to the princess earlier and she had eventually agreed to fly the Castle of Lions to the vicinity of Earth so the paladins could grab a few essentials. Pidge needed tampons, Hunk was craving food, and Shiro needed coffee. Those reasons alone weren’t pressing enough to convince Allura to take them to Earth. But when Shiro explained to her that neither Hunk’s family nor Pidge’s knew they were alive and well, Allura had demurred and agreed to take them back for a short stop.

Pidge suggested they try to time their visit so it was close to October 31st. Then if anyone who saw the Alteans or even Keith wandering around, they wouldn’t think much of it with Halloween so close. Shiro had to agree with the logic. Hunk was probably still in the mess hall explaining to the Alteans what Halloween was.

Shiro needed to think. Sendak’s sleeping face was just a few feet away from the black paladin. The cryopod’s translucent front shell gave Shiro a full view of the Galra commander who had caused Shiro’s team so much pain. The memory core they'd intended to download Sendak’s memory into sat dark and useless to the right of the cryopod. When Allura was ready, she would have Coran hook up the device and begin the extraction.

Shiro wasn’t sure how he felt about the whole thing. He agreed that they need the information Sendak had, no doubt. But he wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Sendak’s consciousness being in any way connected to the Castleship, especially with the remnants of the Galra crystal still causing trouble with the Castle’s systems. There was no way of knowing how deep the infection went. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

 

He was bored beyond belief. There hadn’t been a significant skirmish between the weak resistance and the Galra Empire for months. However, since the news of Voltron’s reappearance reached his ears, he’d been itching for a fight. He wanted to prove his strength and independence.

Until now, only the Champion had ever caught his interest as a potential challenge. But the Champion had escaped under the watch of Commander Sendak. A pity really. He’d been looking forward to the next arena fight. Perhaps now that this Voltron force was finally beginning to be a problem, the emperor would allow him to try his hand at a different arena.

He popped a berry in his mouth and chewed absently, swallowing the tiny seed. A hand slid down his shoulder and down over his chest just as a pair of breasts pressed against his back. He sipped his drink before handing it to his companion who took it eagerly.

Honestly, their addiction to the concoction disgusted him. But it kept them docile and obedient and that was what was important. He knew better than to let his pets roam free without a collar of some sort restricting their movements. Zarkon had made a mistake appointing Sendak to the position of commander. Sendak was a fool.

Prince Lotor was no fool.


	2. Creaseyite: Organize and Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Pidge makes Hunk's ears bleed again and makes a bad pun while Keith teaches Rolo and Nyma a new curse word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I'm crashing early tonight surprise, surprise. It's only 12:30am here. I approve. Much better than the 1:30am thing I've been pulling the past few nights. *groans* Anywho, hope this satisfies y'all's excitement for now. I'll update again tomorrow. ^_^ Until then, enjoy and sleep well~
> 
> I'll be using different stones and their meanings/purported uses as my titles for this fic.

When Lance stepped onto the bridge rubbing his face in exhaustion, everyone knew something had changed. There was a bounce to the blue paladin’s step that hadn’t been there before. Or, more accurately, there was a limp in his gait. Pidge took one look at Lance and snickered. She knew exactly what had occurred last night and she wasn’t going to let the prince get away with it easily.

“Good morning, Lance,” she chirped happily. “Sleep well?”

Lance shot her a side glare with his good eye and grumbled something unintelligible.

“Lance,” Allura said before Pidge could take advantage of the situation. “You may be my brother, but you’re still a paladin of Voltron, and as such you need to be ready for an attack whenever it may occur. Everyone else has been here since I set off the alarm.”

The prince just grumbled and kept walking, shooting a venomous glare at Pidge when she snickered. The green paladin noticed Shiro’s raised eyebrows and made a lewd gesture with her hands that made it very clear what she knew happened last night. The blush on the black paladin’s face was definitely worth it. Hunk caught the tail end of Pidge’s gesture but got the gist of it. He promptly moaned and starting muttering something about brain bleach.

Keith, the smug bastard that he was, was leaning against the back of his pilot’s seat practically undressing Lance with his eyes. Pidge would swear she even noticed the red paladin lick his lips, though it may have been her overactive imagination.

Allura, bless her heart, hadn’t noticed the not so subtle eye fucking going on. She was too busy lecturing her brother who wasn’t even bothering to pretend to listen to her. His continued ignoring was clearly frustrating the princess.

“Lance, look at me,” she commanded, obviously worried. “Are you alright? Are you still tired from last cycle?”

Lance just mumbled something and sank into his pilot chair, curling into a fetal position and closed his eye.

“Lance?” Allura asked, approaching her brother. “What’s wrong?” She knelt by her brother’s chair and gently rested her hand on Lance’s arm. “Lance?”

“’Llura,” Lance finally said clearly enough to be understood, “I love you, but I hate you right now.”

Miffed, Allura stood and planted her fists on her hips. “If this had been an emergency-”

“I would have known you were in trouble and would’ve come,” Lance said. “But seeing as you weren’t in trouble and I was trying to get some sleep, I’m mad at you.”

“Then next time be up at a decent hour,” the princess said.

That’s when Pidge lost it. She cackled madly. “I bet he got up way earlier than you did last night, princess,” she said between laughter.

“Pidge,” Shiro hedged. “I don’t think-”

“I claimed Lance,” Keith declared, earning him a groan from the prince.

“You did _what_ to my baby brother?” Allura shouted, her cheeks flaming red in indignant fury. “Lance,” she turned to her brother, “is this true?”

“I’m old enough to make my own decisions,” Lance said. “Now please shut your mouth and turn the lights down.”

Pidge snorted. “Lance got lanced,” she joked.

“Pidge,” Hunk said. “You’re my friend and my best science bro, but if you make my ears bleed, I may have to hurt you.’”

Pidge snickered and nudged Hunk. “But you gotta admit it’s funny,” she said, egging her friend on.

“I’m going to go with Hunk on this one,” Shiro said. “Pidge, please stop.”

“You let Keith _claim_ you?” Allura demanded, crossing her arms. “Lance, you know that-”

“I’m fine,” Lance said, moving his hands away from his face and sprawling out in his seat like water. “Just a little sore.”

Allura grimaced, and that’s when Pidge noticed something unexpected. Pity. Allura felt pity for her brother. Was there something Pidge was missing? Allura didn’t have to like sex, Pidge certainly didn’t. She could joke about it, but she thought the deed was just a messy pile of emotions. Not worth her trouble. Didn’t mean she couldn’t poke fun at her friends for it, though.

Still, pity?

“Was-” Pidge studied the princess’s face closely as Allura spoke. “Was it-”

“I’ll tell you later,” Lance said, waving his hand tiredly. “When I’m actually awake.”

Allura swallowed nervously but nodded. “Okay,” she said. “In the meantime,” she said louder, turning back to the other paladins, “are we ready to launch?”

“Coran is still walking Rolo and Nyma through the plan,” Shiro answered. “They decided to use the Galra shuttle left in the hangar Keith and Lance locked down during yesterday’s attack. It’s big enough to hold their merchandise from their old ship and its damaged enough for their story of accidental recovery to be believable.”

“Good,” Allura said. “Hunk, how were the Balmerans?”

“Shay has a communicator so she can call us if the Balmerans need anything,” Hunk said, taking a seat in his pilot chair. “I’m going to miss her.”

“Well, you know what they say about long distance relationships,” Pidge said.

“She is not my girlfriend, Pidge,” Hunk said, rolling his eyes. “She’s just a rock that I admire. A lot.”

“Uh huh, right. Whatever.”

“And what about-” Allura glanced hesitantly at Lance, “you know who?”

“Sendak,” Lance said loudly. “You can say his name, sister. I’m not spun glass.”

“I know you’re not,” the princess said, turning back to look her brother directly in the eye. She didn’t flinch from the wound, she just looked sad. “But saying his name makes me want to break something.”

Lance blinked then huffed a laugh and leaned back. “Go ahead,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind. You can start with Pidge.”

“Hey!”

“As I was saying,” Allura said loudly, cutting off the argument before it began, “What about Sendak, Shiro? You were the last person to check on his status, correct?”

The black paladin nodded, his eyes dark. “Coran told me the memory core is hooked up and ready to begin downloading Sendak’s memories,” he said. “But I’m not sure letting that bastard’s mind anywhere near the Castle’s computer systems is a good idea.”

“It isn’t,” Allura said, stepping up to the center platform and placing her hands on the control towers by her sides. “But it’s all we can do if we want the information we need to begin our assault in earnest.”

“Not necessarily,” Lance said, sitting up with a wince. “I’ve spoken to Rolo and Nyma and they’ve agreed to report anything they might find useful to me when they can.”

“What, you mean like spies?” Hunk asked. “Do they get cool gadgets and stuff? You know, like the kind Q always gives James Bond?”

“Or Carmen and Juni in _Spy Kids,”_ Pidge tossed. “I want me one of those electric gumballs.”

“I’d rather keep anything electric away from wet things,” Hunk said. “Like my mouth.”

“Or Lance’s-”

“LALALA PIDGE SHUT UP!”

“Quiznak all of you,” Lance groaned. “You’re just jealous I got lai-”

“NOT YOU TOO, LANCE!”

“-d and you didn’t,” the prince said, smirking.

Keith just grinned strolled up to his mate, planting a bold kiss on the prince’s lips. Lance smiled into the kiss, chuckling when he heard Pidge make an exaggerated sound of disgust. She brought this on herself.

“So, after that very _unneeded_ PDA,” Hunk said emphatically, “you were saying something about spies.”

“Rolo and Nyma will be my spies,” Lance said.

“Excellent,” Allura said, smiling brilliantly.

“What are you paying them with?” Shiro asked shrewdly.

“Information,” Lance said. “It’s an exchange. They tell me if they hear anything about arena battles taking place, slave ships passing by, you get the idea and in exchange I’ll give them anything that could help them slip under the Galra’s attention.”

“Just information?” Shiro asked suspiciously.

Lance shrugged and shifted his arms so Keith could sit on the armrest of his pilot chair before talking. “Yes,” Lance said. “They work for the resistance. If we keep them in the loop, we could have an advantage against the Galra.”

“There’s a resistance?” Allura asked.

“I’m not surprised,” Shiro said, drawing the princess’s attention. “When I was still under the Galra’s control, I heard some of the other gladiators talking about them. Nothing specific, but even if I hadn’t heard anything, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a resistance of some sort. There’s always a group of people who don’t like the current regime for whatever reason.”

“True that,” Hunk said. “Okay, so there’s a rebellion. We’re regular rebels in space, guys. Where’s the Star Destroyers and AT-ATs when you need them?”

Shiro snorted. “They worked for the wrong team, Hunk,” Shiro said. “Don’t you mean X-Wing fighters and the Millennium Falcon?”

Hunk gave the black paladin a watery smile. “I think I love you,” he said.

“What are Star Destroyers?” Allura asked, looking a bit green. “Do they actually…destroy stars?”

“What? No,” Hunk said, waving his hands frantically. “It’s an Earth thing.”

“Your planet has Star Destroyers?” Keith asked, sounding fascinated by the idea.

“No,” Pidge said. “Unfortunately.”

“We just have great imaginations and can ignore common sense,” Hunk said.

“You sound like you’re proud of that,” Lance said wryly, draping himself over Keith's leg.

Surprisingly, it was Shiro who spoke up next. “In our defense, it was often the things that seemed stupid at the time that turned out to be the best decisions later on." He shrugged. "Our history’s full of that.”

“Yeah like that one time we built a nuclear reactor under a college football stadium out of graphite blocks and wood with no moving parts just to see if we could do it first,” Pidge said cheerfully.

The three looks of horror from the aliens in the room were enough to make Pidge swell with pride. Probably not the best reaction but she had to admit it was a reaction. One would almost say it a nuclear. She snorted.

* * *

 

Nyma brushed her thumb over the shard of fluorite in her pocket for the umpteenth time that morning. She knew what she held on an intellectual level, but her mind was still struggling to grasp the idea of holding a part of someone else’s soul, for lack of a better word, in her hand. It was mind blowing and made her antsy. She would have to keep the shard with her wherever she went. If she lost it or it got stolen…

That wouldn’t happen. She wouldn’t let it. Lance had a piece of her soul as well. So if she lost the prince’s shard, she had no doubt the prince would destroy her shard. It was a binding trade and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Until now, she’d only known of Druids who were capable of using magic, or quintessence she’d learned it was called. Finding someone else using that power and admitting to studying under the Druids but fighting against the Galra was definitely a recipe for disbelief.

But it was still fascinating and could be beneficial to both parties. It was also a fair trade. No matter what could be said of Rolo and herself, and there were quite a few words out there that would be accurate, they were both traders at heart. The thought of turning down a good trade was almost heartbreaking.

Rolo had just finished the pre-flight check and was preparing their ‘recovered’ Galra shuttle for launch from the Castleship’s pod hangar bay. The red-haired advisor Coran was very helpful, even if he didn’t shut up. Coran had also given the traders back their cyber-unit Beezer. Rolo was over the moon with joy to have his mechanical buddy back.

“Nyma,” Rolo called, poking his head out of the shuttle.

Nyma looked up from where she was working on checking Beezer’s wiring to be sure it wasn’t damaged or any bugs had been added while it was out of their hands. Never could be too careful.

“We’re ready to go when you are,” he said.

She nodded and replaced the wiring. She hadn’t found any bugs or anything amiss at all with Beezer’s systems. Satisfied, she closed Beezer’s back panel and stood, wiping her hands on her baggy pants, pausing when she felt the lump of the prince’s shard prod her hand. She looked both ways to be sure Coran was still far enough away to not overhear her conversation and stepped up to Rolo.

“You sure about this?” she asked.

Rolo sighed and glanced at Coran’s back, shrugging. “It was a fair trade,” he said carefully. “More than fair.”

“But?”

“But,” Rolo said reluctantly, “I’m not sure…” He bit his lip and considered his words carefully. “I’m not sure how much we should tell the resistance.” He glanced significantly at Nyma’s pocket. “We’re all against the Galra, but… Quite frankly I hate politics.”

“I agree,” Nyma muttered, doing her best not to brush her fingers against the crystal shard. “Still, a deal’s a deal.”

Rolo nodded, nibbling his lip. “The halfbreed said Sendak was dead,” he said.

“What?” Nyma gasped, quickly lowering her voice. “When did this happen? Why didn’t we hear about it earlier?”

Rolo shifted so he leaned against the shuttle’s doorway. “The halfbreed said he did it.” Rolo shook his head. “I didn’t believe him at the time, but then again I didn’t believe him about these guys,” he nodded to Coran, “being Altean either and I think we can safely say that is the truth.”

“So you think the part about Sendak being dead is true too,” Nyma said. “That would boost the morale of the resistance. Having that bastard knocked out of the playing field is a huge advantage. But if we’re going to spread that around, it would probably be best if we had proof of some kind.”

“Yeah,” Rolo agreed. He opened his mouth to say more when the door to the hangar opened and the halfbreed strode in. “Here to see us off?” Rolo called.

Keith rolled his eyes and walked right past the traders to Coran. “Coran,” he said, “Allura’s ready to launch. She wants you on the bridge.”

The advisor straightened and wiped his hands on a dirty towel. “Well, alright,” he said. “Don’t know why she didn’t just call over the speakers, though.”

“Actually,” Rolo said, glancing at Nyma briefly, “we heard you guys defeated Sendak.”

“Keith did, yes,” Coran said.

“We want to spread the word,” Rolo said, noticing the way the halfbreed’s gold and violet eyes narrowed. “But we need some sort of proof. Otherwise, no one will believe us.”

“Oh,” Coran said hesitantly. “Well, he’s currently in one of the prison pods and I’d rather no-”

“If anyone asks,” Keith said over Coran, “tell them Sendak hurt my mate. So I killed him. Anyone familiar with Galra customs will understand that.”

“But is it true?” Rolo asked.

Nyma touched the crystal shard that suddenly felt heavy in her pocket. “The prince’s eye,” he said. Keith didn’t need to answer. His silence was enough. “Are you a Beta or an Alpha?” she asked.

“Alpha,” the halfbreed replied.

Nyma nodded. “We’ll spread the word. In exchange for that information, you should know Commander Prorok is next in the chain of command after Sendak.”

“I’m aware,” Keith said. He hesitated, seeming to struggle with something. “My…father works under Prorok.”

“You know your father?” Rolo gasped.

“We’re close,” Keith replied. “Or at least, as close as we can be.”

“You got a name?” Rolo asked. Keith just glared and the trader backed off, hands raised in surrender. “Didn’t mean to offend,” he said. “I was just wondering.”

“Coran,” Keith said, “the princess needs you.”

“Oh. Oh! Yes,” Coran said in understanding. “Of course. Safe travels.” With a hurried salute, the Altean left the hangar leaving the halfbreed alone with the traders.

“What do you want that couldn’t be said in front of Coran?” Nyma demanded suspiciously.

“Don’t mention the princess,” Keith said.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t mention the princess,” Keith repeated, coming closer. “To anyone. No one. Her existence has to be kept a secret at all costs.”

“But why?” Rolo asked. “She’s the leader of this whole thing, isn’t she?”

“She is, but you can’t tell anyone about her.”

“Why not?” Nyma said. “I need a reason.”

Keith glared at her, his ears twitching in annoyance. “Because if the Galra find out she’s alive, they’ll tear down hell to get her under their control,” the halfbreed said fiercely. “They know about her brother, so you can mention him. But they don’t know about her. They think she’s dead, and the longer they think that, the better.” He rolled his eyes. “As long as Lance doesn’t end up that way too, I’ll be satisfied.”

“If the Galra aren’t supposed to know about the princess, then how do they know about the prince?” Rolo asked. “You’d think if they knew about one, they’d know about the other.”

“Not necessarily,” Keith said. “The Galra do know about the princess. They just think she’s dead. Lance convinced them that he’s the one calling the shots now.”

“So he’s basically painted a target on his back and dropped his pants waiting for some trigger-happy Galra to take the bait.” Rolo whistled. “That’s pretty impressive. Not sure if I should call it brave or stupid, but it sure is somethin’.”

“It’s idiocy,” Keith growled, his ears flattening against his hair. “Brave idiocy.”

“What aren’t you saying?” Nyma said slowly. “The Galra know about the prince. Great. But how do they know?”

“Because Sendak captured him,” Keith said. “And like the loyal fuck Sendak is, he told Zarkon, who wants Lance brought to him alive.”

“Alive?” Nyma repeated in disbelief.

“I call moonshine,” Rolo said, his eyebrows flying up to his hairline incredulously.

“It’s no moonshine,” Keith hissed. “Lance got it into Zarkon’s head that he’s the one in charge. Zarkon can’t kill him or everything that fucking smeg wants is destroyed.”

“But…if the emperor wants him alive, isn’t that a good thing?” Rolo asked. “You know, relatively speaking?”

“I said alive. I never said anything about sane,” Keith said. “Zarkon will keep Lance alive, but he’ll make sure he’s forced to submit. You and I both know who Zarkon trusts with that particular duty.”

Lotor. The name hung unspoken in the hangar as if shouted by a screeching banshee.

“Okay, no mentioning the princess,” Rolo said. “Anything else we need to know?”

Keith backed down, his ears lifting from their flatted position. “Don’t be stupid.”

Nyma snorted. “Says the halfbreed fighting against half of his parent race while flying around in a giant robot lion.”

Keith hesitated, then shrugged. As he turned to leave, he got one last question.

"By the way," Rolo said, "this word you keep using, fuck. What's it mean?"

Keith grinned.


	3. Obsidian: Cools Hot Tempers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the extraction begins and the royal siblings "talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** "Teiidae," or whiptail, is a type of lizard indigenous to the Americas. Certain species of the teiidae are all female, with very few exceptions. I'm basing Nyma's species on that lizard because woah, nifty as crap. Seriously, look them up. They're cool.
> 
> That said, I'll edit this tomorrow when it isn't 1:45am. Sweet dreams dear readers~

Coran reluctantly placed the fourth and final device on the prison pod’s translucent surface, pressing the button so the little lights along the edges flashed. Then he turned to the control panel next to the cryopod and opened a view screen which displayed Sendak’s vitals. The pod had been programmed to only maintain life signs not heal so the mortal wound Keith had inflicted on the Galra commander was still very obvious through the frosted pod cover.

“I have to warn you,” Coran said to his audience, “this technology was not meant to be used this way. It was designed to retain Altean memories, not interrogate prisoners. I have no way of knowing whether this will work and, assuming it does, how long it will take to work. I’ve never heard of this being used on an unwilling participant.”

“I understand your reluctance, Coran,” Allura said, placing her hand on her advisor’s shoulder. “But this is our chance to get some information about the Galra Empire.”

The older Altean gave the princess a look that spoke volumes of how much he did not like this idea. “I’m sure Keith could give us some useful information,” Coran argued, “and you already said Lance was reforming his spy network.”

“I don’t know much, actually,” Keith said, crossing his arms. “I never held a high rank, and even if I did, it would be more for show than anything else. Halfbreeds aren’t exactly welcome in the Galra Empire.” He glanced at Lance out of the corner of his eye before continuing. “The only halfbreed ever to hold a position of any note is the prince and he was born to it. He didn’t achieve it of his own power.” He paused thoughtfully. “Actually, no one’s sure if he’s really a halfbreed or not. We just assume he is.”

“Prince?” Lance asked, looking at his mate incredulously. “The prince of what?”

“The Galra Empire,” Keith answered. He blinked when he realized he was now the center of attention. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“The Galra Empire has a prince?” Allura demanded, her face pale with shock.

Now Keith was confused. “Yes,” he said. “Didn’t Shiro tell you? He was the Champion for a year. The prince frequented the arena battles when he wasn’t off quelling the pathetic attempts at rebellion.”

“Pathetic?” Pidge said.

“Like ours, you mean?” Hunk asked wryly.

Keith just shrugged. “No hard feelings,” he said. “But it is just the seven of us, nine if you include Lance’s two spies, against an entire empire. Those aren’t exactly the best odds.”

“You’d be amazed what a small force can be capable of,” Shiro said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, hiding the gleaming metal of his Druid-enhanced hand from sight. “Besides, I don’t really remember much of my time under the Galra,” he said slowly. “I wish I did, but I don’t.”

“It’s probably best that you don’t,” Hunk said.

The red paladin shook his head. “I didn’t realize,” Keith said. “I just thought you didn’t want to talk about it so I didn’t press.”

Shiro nodded with a weak smile. “Thanks, I guess,” he said.

“But there _is_ a prince?” Coran said.

Keith nodded. “Nasty bastard,” Keith sneered. “He doesn’t have the best reputation, even among the Galra. But he’s respected enough for his strength and prowess in battle that no one will speak out against him. It doesn’t help that he’s friendly with the Druids.”

“I find it hard to believe Zarkon would share power,” Lance said. “He never was one to take kindly to that sort of thing.”

“You sound like you knew him personally,” Pidge said.

“We did,” Allura said with a shrug. “He didn’t just appear out of nowhere after all. Alteans had dealings with the Galra before Zarkon came to power.”

Keith nodded. “Did you ever know anyone named Lotor?” he asked.

“No,” Allura said, furrowing her brows. She looked at Coran who shook his head.

“Nope, nothing here,” the advisor said.

“Am I the only one wondering if Zarkon is the dad?” Hunk asked, raising his hand.

“I bet he is,” Pidge muttered.

“He is,” Keith confirmed. “Or it’s assumed he is. If something ever happens to the emperor, Lotor will take over the throne. But considering no one ever remembers any ruler other than Zarkon, I doubt Lotor will ever get the throne.”

“And we’re back to wondering how the quiznak Zarkon survived this long in the first place,” Lance said mildly.

“Is no one else going to address the elephant in the room?” Pidge said. “You know, like the fact Zarkon had to do the down and dirty with someone to get a son in the first place?”

“If Lotor really _is_ Zarkon’s son,” Keith said. “I think he is. He’s certainly despicable enough. But no one actually knows. Well,” he amended, “I bet the Druids know.”

“Is the memory core ready?” Allura asked, hoping to divert the conversation back to the reason they were all gathered down here in the first place.

Coran jolted. “Oh! Yes. Yes, it is,” he said. “Ready for your command, princess.”

Everyone turned to Allura who took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “Alright,” he said more to herself than to anyone else present. “Coran,” she said louder, “begin the extraction process.”

Coran winced but obediently turned around and began the activation sequence for memory transference. The lights on the four circular devices on the cryopod stopped flashing, settling in a steady glow. However, the memory core tube remained dark.

“Nothing’s happening,” Hunk said. “Is that okay?”

Coran nodded, scanning the readouts on the view screen in front of him. “It’s not unexpected,” he said. “Even with a willing participant, memory extraction takes time. With an unwilling participant…” He shook his head. “It could take anywhere from a few tecks to a few cycles.”

“Good,” Pidge said. “‘Cause we need to talk, like now.”

“Why?” Shiro asked.

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Dude, these aliens don’t know anything about Earth.”

“Who’re you calling ‘aliens’?” Lance grumbled. “This isn’t your ship.”

The green paladin ignored him and continued. “We really need to give them a rundown of Earth references,” Pidge said. “You know like,” she side-eyed Keith, “how to understand our directions when fighting an enemy.” Keith flushed. “And what guerrilla tactics are.” Both Keith and Lance flushed. “And the importance of Halloween.”

“I’m still not sure I understand that holiday,” Allura mumbled.

“I’ve already input the calculations for targeting into the training arena computer with Coran’s help,” Hunk said. “I figured we could start integrating it into our practices.”

“Speaking of,” Allura said, smirking.

“You just had to go there, Hunk,” Pidge muttered. “You just had to.”

Shiro snorted. “How ‘bout we all get something to eat then get some practicing in,” he suggested.

“I’ll stay here,” Allura said. “Someone should keep an eye on the memory core.”

Shiro grimaced. “I’ll keep you company,” he said.

“I’ll be fine on my own,” Allura said indignantly.

“Actually, I agree with Shiro,” Coran said. “You need rest, princess. The Balmeran rejuvenation ceremony took a lot out of you.”

“Don’t worry,” Lance said before Allura could argue. “I’ll report the practice results after your rest.”

“I-”

“Allura,” Lance said.

Finally, Allura sighed in resignation. Her shoulders drooped and she looked thoroughly drained. “I suppose I am tired,” she said reluctantly.

“Why don’t you go speak to Father,” Lance suggested, pulling his sister into a hug. “I’ll come check on you when I can.”

“What makes you think you’re not joining the princess?” Coran said, eyeing the prince.

“What?”

Coran mussed Lance’s hair fondly. “You’ll be joining her highness for a rest,” he said.

“But I’m fine,” Lance said, flushing.

“I sincerely doubt that,” Coran said. “You resonated with Allura twice last cycle and I’m well aware of the drawbacks of doing that. Not to mention what you and Keith got up to last night.”

Lance flushed and sulked.

The princess smiled and held out her hand for her brother. “Come with me?” she asked. “We can visit Father together.” She smiled when Lance nodded and took her hand.

“I’ll stay, then,” Shiro said.

“I’ll go start cooking lunch, I guess,” Hunk said. “Coran, you coming with?”

“Of course,” Coran said proudly.

Pidge snickered. “Then I’ll go queue up the targeting practice program for the arena.”

Keith shifted awkwardly. “I…guess I’ll go-”

“Nice try,” Pidge said. “You’re coming with me. I need someone to make sure the program works before we all use it.”

Keith paled, his ears popping straight up in full alert. “I’ll pass.”

Pidge smirked. “I don’t remember giving you a choice.”

“Go on, Keith,” Lance called from the doorway by his sister. “Unless you think you can’t dodge Pidge’s attacks.”

Keith’s started, a slow grin stretching across his face. “You’ll pay for that,” he said.

Lance just shrugged. “Not if you’re shot down by Pidge, I won’t,” he said, disappearing down the hall with his sister.

Hunk took one look at the red paladin’s face and booked it out of there dragging Coran along with him. Pidge snorted and strolled out of the room confident Keith would follow right behind her. The red paladin wasn’t about to be shown up by his own mate, after all.

Shiro watched his friends leave with a soft smile on his face. He really couldn’t believe they’d all grown so close in just a little under two weeks. They were practically a family now, even though Pidge and Hunk still had family back on Earth. But that wasn’t entirely true, was it, Shiro thought with a grimace. Pidge’s father and brother were still missing, and it was all Shiro’s fault.

Shiro turned his gaze to Sendak’s unconscious form and felt his skin crawl. This one Galra had done so much to hurt his little makeshift family. Shiro could barely grasp what kind of terrible things Zarkon or this Lotor were capable of. Then again, he thought, narrowing his eyes at Sendak, who was to say he couldn’t find out more about Zarkon and Lotor.

“I know you can hear me,” Shiro said to Sendak’s unresponsive body. “You’ll tell me what you know eventually. You will. I won’t let you or the Galra get away with what you’ve done.”

* * *

 

“So,” Allura said when she and her brother were far enough away from the other as to be alone, “how are you really? Are you alright?”

Lance heaved and sighed. “It was…less than comfortable,” he admitted reluctantly. “It felt amazing but… I couldn’t…” He trailed away in a noncommittal hum.

Allura nodded, squeezing her brother’s hand. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “You know you don’t have to do it.”

“I know,” her brother said. “But I want to. It wasn’t all bad and I got to see him come.” Lance smiled. “That was worth it.”

The princess smiled. “I bet it was,” she said. “I’d like that one day.”

“Sorry,” Lance said, holding up a hand in mock rejection. “Keith already told me he doesn’t share.”

Allura scoffed and slapped her brother’s hand away. “You knew very well that is _not_ what I meant.”

Lance snickered. “Of course not, lovely lady. Besides, I think a certain someone would be disappointed if you chose someone else.”

As expected, Allura flushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her brother groaned dramatically. “If you’re deliberately acting coy, then you’re failing horribly, sister,” he teased.

Allura’s smile faded, startling her brother.

“‘Llura?” he asked. “You do like him, don’t you?”

She bit her lip nervously, and almost immediately knew she’d given too much away. She sighed in resignation as they approached the holodeck, eventually slowing to a stop. “It doesn’t really matter whether I like him or not,” she said. “It wouldn’t be… I can’t give him what he deserves.”

“How do you know?” Lance asked. “Have you tried asking him?”

“No, and I won’t,” Allura said firmly. “Neither of us can have children. There’s no reason to lead them on. They deserve better.”

“Are you saying I’m wrong for not telling Keith?” Lance said, distancing himself from his sister. “He fell asleep almost immediately after sex. If he’d stayed awake then he probably would have found out on his own. I couldn’t exactly hide in the position I was in. But I didn’t want to tell him because it has nothing to do with him.”

“He’s your mate,” Allura said. “He deserves to know.”

“It wouldn’t make a difference anyway,” Lance said. “Keith is sexually male and I'm essentially male sexually. Even if we wanted children, Galran males don't have the capability to give birth, I can't carry even with the juniberry, and we're not Teiidae like Nyma. You know that.”

“But Keith still deserves to know,” Allura insisted. “You’re his mate. You shouldn’t keep him in the dark.”

“This coming from someone who won’t even tell the person she’s interested in that she likes him, just because she doesn’t want him to know she’s barren,” Lance said.

A sharp slap echoed in the hallway followed by a heavy silence that neither sibling was willing to break. Lance stood still, head turned to the side from the force of his sister’s strike, refusing to raise his hand to cradle his sore cheek. Allura glared at him with tears in her eyes, shaking with hurt-fueled fury.

“That,” she said finally, “was uncalled for.”

“Then don’t insult my decisions,” Lance said just as softly. “If you choose to ignore your feelings, so be it. But unlike you, I still remember how to feel. I didn’t train myself to smother my emotions just to please some other race with niceties. I still remember what it’s like to be Altean. Sometimes I wonder if you do.”

“I _do_ remember!” Allura shouted. “I remember Alwida and Latif pulling on my dress and dyeing my hair with berry juice just to make me angry. I remember Aldrun listening to me rant about some of the idiotic people I had to deal with. I remember Lauma always being there to calm me when the stress prevented me from shifting my form back to what it should be.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I remember you choosing to settle for a less prestigious position when you could have had it all.”

“I refuse to be told what to do,” Lance hissed. “I always have and I always will. No one commands me. Not Father, not the Druids, not Zarkon, not Keith, and not you. I am myself first. I won’t compromise that to please someone else. Even if that someone is you, sister.”

“Yet you’re willing to die for me without any questions asked,” Allura said in exasperation.

“I’m your Sentinel,” Lance said, throwing his hands in the air. “That’s what I’m supposed to do. Die. For you. That’s my job. That’s who I am. That’s what I’m supposed to be. You live, I die. That’s how it works. That’s how it will always work. You don’t have to like it but you can’t change it. Our life paths were chosen for us. We didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter.”

“That’s what you think?” Allura gasped. “You think… Don’t be stupid, Lance. You’re not going to die unless you keep acting like you did last cycle.”

“Which time?” Lance snapped. “When you deliberately kept me away from you while you healed the Balmera nearly killing you in the process? Or when you took the quintessence I gave you to fire that weapon? Which time were you referring to? Because the way I see it, if I hadn’t been there, you would have died. You can’t die, Allura. I’m expendable, you’re not.”

“You are _not_ expendable!” she shouted. “And that part about the weapon was a low blow.”

" _Life_ is a low blow!” Lance cried. “Or hadn’t you noticed we’ve been handed the short end of the stick here? Even if we win the next fight, there’s still always another. Then another, then another, then another, until we either die or we finally win this ridiculous war. Even then, what purpose do we serve?”

“We brought peace to the universe,” Allura said.

“Don’t give me that diplomatic nonsense,” Lance sneered. “If we live long enough and are lucky enough to win this war, then that still won’t change the fact that you and I will both die, and when Coran dies our entire race will be extinct. Do you understand that, Allura? Extinct. As in, no more. We won’t matter. We’ll be a footnote in history. If that, if we lose. Which is a very real possibility.”

“We’ll win.”

“You can’t guarantee that,” Lance said, turning away and crossing his arms angrily.

“You’re right, I can’t,” Allura said coldly. “But I will sure as frell try. I’ll be quiznaked if I just give up here after we’ve defeated the Galra enough times to get their attention.”

“Ugh, I _hate_ this,” Lance groaned, rubbing his face with his hands.

“Well, so do I,” the princess declared. “I hate this just as much as you do, if not more.”

“Oh, really?” Lance said, sneering.

“Yes, really,” Allura said. “At least I’m trying to do something with my life instead of bemoaning my fate like a certain someone I know.”

“Well, excuse me if I thought I could vent to someone I trusted,” Lance said.

“That wasn’t venting, that was yelling,” Allura said.

“You were right there doing the same thing and you know it.”

“And you’re _still_ yelling.”

 _“Of course I’m still yelling!”_ Lance shouted furiously. “I don’t have any other way of venting.”

“Well then find someone else to vent to because I’m not your beating post!” Allura said fiercely. “We’re all hurting right now. You’re not the only one.”

“I’m aware of that,” Lance snapped.

“Then act like it,” Allura said. “Grow up.”

“I am grown up,” Lance said, lowering his voice to a cold, steady tone. “I grew up when I watched Alwida’s face melt away in front of me while I held her in my arms. I grew up when I heard Mother scream and claw her throat out while trying to save Aldrun. I grew up when I watched everyone I knew and care about die in front of me and I was too scared to move. I grew up that night because the child I was then was too _pathetic_ to do anything when it mattered most.”

* * *

  _“Did you enjoy it?”_

* * *

Lance was gasping when he finished even though he hadn’t raised his voice once during his tirade. His one eye glittered with unshed tears and his entire body was shaking. Allura wasn’t much better. Her tanned face was visibly pale and her eyes were wide and filled with horror.

“You were there?” she whispered. “You said you weren’t there. You weren’t supposed to be there. Coran said-”

“Coran lied,” Lance said curtly. “I saw everything. So don’t tell me to grow up, Allura. You may have grown up first on other planets, but I grew up on Altean and that’s where my childhood died. On Altea. With my family.”

“Lance-”

Lance yanked his sleeve from his sister’s grasped and stepped back. “You go talk to Father,” he said. “I’m going back to sleep.”

“Lance wait,” Allura called. “Lance? Lance!”

She moved to give chase only to be stopped by the lift doors closing behind her brother’s retreating back. She stood in front of the closed lift doors for several tecks after she knew Lance would have made it back to his bedroom. This was not how she wanted to start the day. This wasn’t how she wanted to start anything. She didn’t know how to handle this alone.

Father. Father would know what to do.


	4. Phenacite: aids with astral travel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance is upset, Shiro is suspicious, and Nyma and Rolo end up the keepers of secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Sorry I didn't update yesterday or the day before. I found out my dog had terminal cancer on Friday and we put her to sleep on Saturday. We had no idea she had cancer. She was clean when we took her to the vet in July. Then dad took her to the vet last Tuesday because she hurt herself and the doctors found a huge tumor in her abdomen. It was 12 lbs and the size of a football. The chances of her surviving surgery were low and even if they succeeded in removing it, she would have had to go through chemo and that still would have only bought her another year at most. It wouldn't have been much of a life and she was old for her breed.
> 
> Her name was Sophie and she was 12 years old. We all came home to love on her Friday afternoon. She was fine when I saw her a couple weeks ago but she could barely stand Friday night and could only manage a single weak wag of her tail Saturday morning. We all stayed with her and loved on her until she fell asleep and didn't wake up. She loved everyone unconditionally and was the most gentle dog I'd ever known. She was an angel to so many people and I miss her so much. I'm crying as I'm writing this dammit. 
> 
> Sorry to ruin the mood, but yeah... That's been my weekend. Hope yours went better.
> 
> BTW, "Meserie" is from the Romanian word for "trade."

Lance was still fuming when he rounded the corner to his bedroom. He pushed in the access code for his quarters harder than he should have and stalked into the room. This was one of those times he sincerely wished he could slam the door behind him. At most, all he could do was angrily lock the door and lean against it.

The metal was cool against his clothed back, but not quite as cold as his skin was. It felt good. At least the door supported him, even if it was just an inanimate, unfeeling door. He let himself slowly sink down to the floor so his knees pressed against his chest. He wrapped his arms around his knees and rest his nose against his thighs. Hot, angry tears brimmed his eyes, trailing down his cheeks.

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to anyone. Honestly, there were times he wondered if his sister knew what exactly was involved in the whole Heir-Sentinel relationship. He knew she did, but the indignant part of him still wondered. Why didn’t she just accept their positions and move on with her life?

Frak this place. Frak this war. Frak his father. Frak the Galra. Frak his life. Frak everything.

He just wanted to close his eyes and wake up back on Altea with his mother holding him and telling this was all just a dream. It wasn’t real. This wasn’t real. This _couldn’t_ be real. It was too much weight, too much responsibility. When he accepted his father’s title of Sentinel, he’d done so knowing what he was walking into. But no one expected the Galra to rebel and take their fury out on the Alteans. Lance had not been prepared for that.

He definitely hadn’t been prepared for the rebellion to become a war that resulted in the loss of Altea and everything Lance ever held dear. Sure, he still had the Castleship and Allura and Coran and Father if he considered the memories of his father familiar. But otherwise he was floundering the ocean with no land in sight. He vaguely wondered if this was what the Humans on board were feeling.

But then again, they were going back to the Humans’ home planet now, weren’t they? Earth. He’d listened to the other paladins talk about it when they ate together in the mess hall or in between training sessions. It sounded like a nice place to visit, even if it wasn’t home.

Home. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to be surrounded by something welcoming and familiar once more. Just for a cycle.

Before he knew it, he was sobbing and shaking. He never felt embarrassed when he realized a while later that mixed in with his tears, he’d been calling for his mother.

* * *

 

The memory core remained dark even after an hour. Maybe it was longer than an hour, Shiro didn’t know. All he knew was that his continuous attempts to get a response from Sendak’s unconscious mind were proving to be a study in failure. Coran had said these things could take time even with willing participants. Maybe Shiro should call it a day and take a break. A workout session in the training arena sounded good right about now, if Pidge was finished with it that is.

If Pidge was still busy working on the targeting program with Keith, then it would probably be best if Shiro paid a visit to Allura. The plan, as far as he knew, was to make a wormhole jump to Earth’s vicinity this evening or tomorrow morning when Allura was rested enough to handle to power needed to initiate the jump. Judging from what he’d seen of the princess’s appearance this morning, he doubted the jump would be made tonight. Both Allura and Lance had seemed extra tired.

Still- he glanced back at Sendak’s prison pod- it felt like giving up if he left now. There wasn’t much he could do besides wait, but he still felt like he was giving up. He had no way of knowing exactly how long he’d been waiting, but when his stomach finally grumbled he decided to call it a day. He would come back to check in the evening before he went to bed. There was no way he was going to miss the chance to interrogate Sendak.

If he had stayed for another few minutes, he probably would have noticed the faintest trickle of purple energy seep into the memory core branching out into thin threads resembling the roots of an invisible tree.

* * *

 

Nyma’s hand twitched to the fluorite shard in her pocket for the twelfth time since she and Rolo left the Castleship. Yes, she had been counting. She couldn’t help it. It felt like a weight on her mind and it tingled when it touched her fingers. There had been a couple time when she could swear she felt something like emotions or snatches of thought when she touched the shard’s smooth surface. It was strange.

Right now, she felt something strongly from the shard. It was like a niggling thought in the back of her mind demanding she touch the shard. So she did just that.

_:Can you hear me?:_

She almost dropped the shard in shock, fumbling with it before gripping it tightly in her palm. “Uh, your highness?” she called cautiously.

 _:It’s me,:_ the Altean prince’s voice said. _:I wanted to test the connection to be sure it worked.:_

Nyma nodded, leaning back in her chair and staring out the cockpit window. She fiddled with the stone in her hand, pulling it out so she could actually look at it. The watery blue-green of the crystal caught the dim light from the nebula they were currently flying through, revealing a smoky tendril of purple deep within the shard. Something flickered behind the stone and she lowered it to see what had caught her attention.

She almost screamed.

 _:Please don’t,:_ the prince said. _:I can hear you perfectly well without you yelling.:_

“Okay,” Nyma said slowly. “So… I can see you.”

The spectral image of the Altean prince nodded. _:Per se,:_ he said, his voice sounding somewhat distant as if spoken through a tunnel. _:What you see is my quintessence, which is why I’m not solid.:_

“Yeah, um, about that,” Nyma began, eyeing the prince’s hips, faintly disturbed. “You’re standing in the dashboard.”

Lance lifted an eyebrow. _:The move.:_

“Excuse me?”

 _:Turn around and hold the crystal shard in front of you,:_ he clarified with a roll of his eye. _:My image will move with you.:_

Nyma spun in her chair holding the shard out in front of her as she did so. True to Lance’s words, the prince’s form moved with her so it now seemed to stand in the empty floor of the cockpit. She leaned back in her chair and hummed.

“Interesting,” she murmured. “It’s like a portable hologram.”

 _:Something like that, yes,:_ Lance said with a nod. _:Except only you can see and hear me.:_

“So I’d look like a freak to anyone else,” Nyma said.

Lance smirked. _:Basically.:_

“Thanks,” Nyma said wryly.

_:Anytime.:_

Nyma couldn’t fight the smirk from spreading across her face at the prince’s smug tone. “Okay, your highness,” she began.

 _:Lance,:_ the prince said curtly. _:Please. I’m not the prince of much anymore.:_

Oh, right. “Alright then,” she corrected herself. “Lance. What do you want? We haven’t been away long enough to contact anyone.”

 _:I figured as much,:_ he said. _:I just wanted to test the connection to be sure it worked correctly.:_

“Did anyone ever tell you you’re a bad liar?” Nyma asked wryly, arching an eyebrow incredulously. She couldn’t see the blush that colored the prince’s face through the blue tone of the image that washed out all the other colors, but she knew it was there.

 _:Not to my face, no,:_ Lance admitted.

“You’re a bad liar,” Nyma said.

Curiously, instead of being offended, Lance huffed a laugh. _:I’m not necessarily surprised. I’m not a diplomat.:_

“But you were a prince,” Nyma said.

 _:Royalty on Altea isn’t what you think it is. Was,:_ Lance corrected, dropping his gaze. _:Wasn’t what you think it was.:_

“Okay, so what was it like?” Nyma asked.

 _:It was an elected position,:_ Lance explained. _:The royalty were the ones chosen by the people to represent Altea in official business regarding the Galactic Alliance. We didn’t hold much power, nor were we a major player in the politics at the time, but we were valuable as diplomats, relief workers, and explorers.:_

“Huh.” Nyma rolled the fluorite shard I her hand thoughtfully. “So if you didn’t want anything, then why call me?”

Lance bowed his head, glancing over his shoulder at something Nyma couldn’t see. When he looked back, he looked tired. _:I just needed to talk,:_ he said slowly.

Nyma groaned. “I’m not a therapist, you know,” she said.

Lance glared. _:I’m aware of that. But you also aren’t one of the six other people on this ship I can talk to.:_

Nyma shrugged. “Okay, yeah, I can understand that,” she said. “Ship fever has a tendency to get to the best of us sometimes.” She met Lance’s eye. “So who did you have a fight with?” she asked shrewdly.

Lance pursed his lips. _:My sister,:_ he said.

Ah. That made sense.

 _:We both said things we meant but didn’t mean,:_ Lance said. _:Or we meant them but we never meant to say them out loud.:_

“Isn’t that usually how fights go?”

Lance shrugged. He leaned back and crossed his ankles and arms, braced against something she couldn’t see. It was strange in a fascinating sort of way. “Do I look like I’m sitting on nothing?” she asked curiously.

 _:I’m aware you’re sitting on a chair most likely,:_ Lance said, _:but I can’t see it, no. I can only see you. Nothing else.:_

“Huh, interesting,” she said. “So if I gave this shard to Rolo,” she said, holding up Lance’s fluorite shard, “would he see you?”

 _:Maybe,:_ Lance said, tilting his head thoughtfully. _:It probably wouldn’t be as clear as you see me, but he should be able to see me.:_

Nyma nodded. “That could be useful,” she said, studying the shard. “Is there any way to make this kind of thing without quintessence?”

Lance hummed. _:I don’t see why not,:_ he said considering the idea. _:It hasn’t been done before as far as I’m aware. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.:_

“Then I guess that means I can give it a try,” Nyma said. She grinned. “Hey Beezer,” she called to the little cyber-unit keeping an eye on the recovered Galra shuttle’s readouts. It beeped when she called it. “Make a note to keep an eye out for possible trades involving holographic and communication devices.”

The cyber-unit beeped and went back to holding their course.

“We’ve recovered what we could from our old ship and are on our way to Meserie at the moment,” Nyma said, returning her attention to Lance’s image. “It’s a busy trading outpost frequented by Black Marketeers and legit traders. The Galra have a presence there, but they don’t bother enforcing much. Most of them are too involved in the Black Market anyway. Enforcing the law would cause problems for them.” She shrugged and waved her free hand mildly. “Besides, as long as they don’t enforce, they can keep most of the trade in this quadrant limited to Meserie.”

 _:Understandable,:_ Lance said, scratching behind his pointed ear. _:They would know the Black Market can never be totally controlled or shut down. Zarkon was a diplomat himself at one point. He would know better than to try to control the Black Market.:_

“The Galra Emperor was a diplomat?” Nyma said in disbelief. “No way.”

Lance nodded. _:He was. That’s actually how my sister met him to begin with. He came to Altea with our father as a diplomat for the Galra. We weren’t at war with them then, remember. We didn’t necessarily agree with them on everything, but we were allies. Zarkon was actually a-:_  He abruptly fell silent, looking away. _:Nothing, nevermind.:_

Well wasn’t that interesting.

“Rolo and I will keep our ears open for your mate’s requested trade,” Nyma said, studying the prince’s facial expressions closely.

_:What did he ask for, if you don’t mind me asking?:_

“Nothing, nevermind,” Nyma said. Lance blinked then glowered. Nyma just smirked. “Funny how secrets can go both ways, huh?” she teased.

Lance snorted and shook his head.

“Has your sister given you what she traded for yet?” Nyma asked.

 _:If you mean the cybernetic eye, then no, not yet,:_ Lance answered, surprising the trader.

“So you did see that,” she murmured.

 _:I figured she was trading for something when she had me get the Kadesh,:_ the prince said with a one shouldered shrug. _:Kadesh isn’t something we use often.:_

“Why?” Nyma asked, both of her eyebrows brushing her hairline with interest.

 _:It’s not a contraceptive for us,:_ Lance said. _:You'll understand if I say we don't really need that sort of thing.:_

“So I’ve heard,” Nyma said. “It is for Teiidae, but it also helps enhance the sexual experience.”

 _:That’s what it does for us,:_ Lance said. _:Although, as we are now, that wouldn’t exactly mean much for us.:_

Nyma nodded grimly. “Tell your mate that we should have some results by tomorrow evening,” she said. “Although, it would probably be best if we told him in person, not through you. I’m a trader and I value my client’s privacy.”

_:I thought Rolo was the one Keith traded with.:_

“He is,” Nyma agreed. “But I’m his partner. I know what they traded for and I’m still bound by customer-trader confidentiality.”

Lance furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity. _:Alright. But I’d rather you not use this method,:_ he said eventually, referring to their quintessence communication. _:If I let Keith use your shard, you would understand what I mean.:_

“I would feel it?” she asked nervously.

 _:No,:_ Lance said. _:You wouldn’t be able to see him or feel him unless I resonated with him so the quintessence in my shard in your possession would recognize him as a part of me. But he could see you. He couldn’t hear you, but he could see you.:_

“That’s a little disturbing,” Nyma said. “And if I gave your shard to Rolo?”

Lance shook his head. _:He shouldn’t be able to use it to talk to me either,:_ Lance said. _:He could see me, but not hear me. I wouldn’t be able to see or hear him either.:_

“That explains why you were so hesitant to do this,” Nyma said, dropping her gaze to the shard in her hand. “You could easily spy on someone that way.”

 _:That’s one of the reasons, yes,:_ Lance said.

“Alright, then we’ll use our encrypted channel,” the Teiidae said firmly. “You have the codes in your system?” Lance nodded. “Then expect a call from us sometime next cycle. Try not to intrude,” she warned. “It is a private conversation.”

_:I understand.:_

“Good. Then I’ll speak to you later.”

Lance nodded and faded away.

“Well, that was something.”

Nyma turned in her chair to Rolo who stood in the doorway that lead from the shuttle’s small bridge to the storage compartment in the back.

“Was that the prince?” Rolo asked.

Nyma nodded. “You couldn’t see him, could you?” She wasn’t surprised Rolo shook his head.

“Couldn’t hear him either,” Rolo said. He strolled to his seat at the dashboard and pulled up their travel status. “I finished cataloguing what we have,” he said. “It isn’t much, but it’ll get us through tonight’s trade. I’ll start looking for a possible juniberry trader when I can.”

“You’re sure about this?” his partner asked.

Rolo shook his head. “No, I’m not,” he answered honestly. “Quite frankly, I hate the idea. But a trade is a trade, after all.”

Nyma nodded. “What if the trader is a Galra?” she asked, leaning back in her chair watching her partner fiddle with the controls.

“Let’s hope it isn’t,” Rolo said.

“But if it is?” Nyma pressed.

Her partner sighed and scratched his head. “Then we’ll deal with it,” he said after a moment. “We aren’t actually going to get our hands on the plant, just tell the halfbreed how to get it.”

“Unless we want them in our debt,” Nyma said off-handedly.

Rolo paused and gave her a considering look. He pressed his lips together in thought. “Think we could pull that off?” he asked carefully.

“Maybe,” she hedged. “If we could get away with it without losing our support base.”

Rolo nodded. “I’ll keep that idea in mind,” he murmured. “But first,” he pushed in a few buttons, “straight face on.”

Nyma immediately sat up and schooled her expression so it gave nothing away. She turned her chair so it faced the front view screen and waited for Rolo to pull up the view screen. When the red-tinged glow of the view screen lit the bridge, Nyma forced herself to relax.

It took a few tecks for the call to go through. When it did, Nyma was glad she was in control of herself. Their contact seemed anything but in control of himself. His purple fur was fluffed out in all directions as if he’d been running his hands through ti continuously. His golden eyes had a shine to them that wasn’t exactly something Nyma thought was healthy. Clearly, something had changed on Thace’s end that wasn’t necessarily for the better.

 _“I can’t talk for long,”_ Thace said.

“What’s going on?” Rolo demanded, concern obvious on his face.

Thace glanced around him. _“Lotor is here,”_ he said urgently. _“He arrived late last night and is taking over the hunt for the Lions of Voltron.”_

“Lotor?!” Rolo cried. He looked at his partner who was just as pale as he was. Rolo licked his lips nervously. “Oh quiznak.”

 _“Commander Prorok and I will be attached to the prince’s search party,”_ Thace said. _“I’m going to act as the intermediary between Lotor and the emperor.”_ He shook his head. _“Apparently, I impressed Zarkon,”_ he said. _“I’m not sure how to deal with this.”_

“We can use this,” Rolo said, leaning forward eagerly. “If you’re close to the emperor, then we could get that much more information to the resistance.”

“Speaking of,” Nyma said, “we’ve been in direct contact with the Voltron team. We have a direct connection to one of the members which we can use to trade information from both sides.”

 _“Do you trust them?”_ Thace demanded cautiously.

Rolo hesitated and looked at Nyma, She nodded and Rolo answered slowly. “I’d say yes,” he answered slowly. “Our contact there… He offered a good faith gift that required more concession on his side then ours.”

 _“And this person is your contact?”_ Thace asked. _“You didn’t tell him about me, did you?”_

Nyma shook her head. “No,” she said aloud. “He told us he didn’t want to know the names of any of our contacts.”

Thace actually looked surprised by that. _“Not at all?”_

“No,” Nyma said, shaking her head. “He said it would be better for everyone involved if he didn’t know. So you’ll understand if we keep his identity a secret as well.”

 _“No,”_ Thace said quickly. _“If he wants to stay hidden, it’s probably for the best. Lotor’s on the hunt for someone involved with the Voltron Lions. Apparently, Sendak captured him but he escaped. I don’t know the details except that Zarkon wants him alive and unharmed, if possible.”_

“Unharmed?” Nyma repeated. “That’s…”

“Unusual to say the least,” Rolo finished.

 _“Like I said, I don’t know much,”_ Thace said. _“I may be close to the emperor, but I’m still only a subcommander. I’ll see what I can learn from Lotor but don’t count on anything too useful yet.”_

“We won’t,” Rolo said, nodding. “When do you want us to contact you next?”

 _“Don’t,”_ Thace said. _“I’ll contact you.”_

“Will do,” Nyma said.

“One last thing,” Rolo said before Thace could cut the communication. “Do you know anyone under Prorok who has a halfbreed son?”

Thace stiffened. _“Why?”_

“We crossed paths with a halfbreed while with the Voltron team,” Rolo said. “He mentioned having a father serving under Prorok.”

Thace’s eyes widened. _“What was his name?”_

Rolo glanced at Nyma so she answered. “Keithek,” she said. “But they call him Keith.”

Thace buried his face in his hands. _“He’s alive,”_ he murmured almost too softly for the communicator to catch.

“You’re his father, aren’t you,” Nyma said. It wasn’t a question, but neither she nor Rolo really needed an answer. Thace’s reaction was answer enough. “You should know he wouldn’t tell us who you were. He wanted to protect you.”

Thace chuckled. _“That boy...”_

“He has a mate,” Nyma said.

Thace stood ramrod straight in shock. _“A mate?”_ he gasped. _“Who…?”_

“Our contact, actually,” Nyma said. “According to Keith, Sendak hurt his mate so Keith killed him.”

A smile tugged Thace’s lips up in a smile. _“Did he now? Good.”_

“Do you want us to tell him about you?” Nyma asked.

Thace hesitated, obviously conflicted. Eventually, his smile faded and he shook his head. _“No,”_ he said. _“It’s probably for the best that he doesn’t know.”_

Nyma winced but a glance at Rolo and they both knew that some things were best kept secret. “Alright then,” she said. “We’ll pass along the information about Lotor, but we won’t say anything to Keith.”

 _“Thank you,”_ Thace said. _“I’ll contact you when I can.”_

The traders nodded. “Stay safe, friend,” Rolo said. Thace smiled and offered a friendly salute before ending the connection.


	5. Chalcedony: honesty, alleviates regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Allura and her father have a heart-to-heart and Keithek gets a live test of Pidge's new targeting system, whether he likes it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Not as long as my usual chapters but for some reason the Internet has been spotty tonight so I'm uploading this now before I lose connection again. Also, the furnace in our apartment has temporarily failed. The Heat is on and the thermostat is set for 74, but it hasn't gotten above 64. It's cold man. *shivers*

“I just don’t understand,” Allura said, pulling her legs closer to herself and leaning back on one hand. “He has so much potential, but he just won’t acknowledge it. It’s like he absolutely refuses to do anything that will help him advance.”

“Unless he doesn’t want to be noticed in that way,” Alfor said, tilting his head to catch his daughter’s eyes. “Not everyone enjoys the spotlight, Allura. You tended to gravitate towards that position because it was in your nature. Lance was never one for the interplanetary stage. He preferred to focus his time and energy on Altea. That is not something to be ashamed of.”

“I know but if he’s capable of so much more, why doesn’t he at least try?” Allura demanded. She plucked one of the illusionary juniberry flowers and held it as a comforting gesture. “He should have at least attempted to be a Master Ascender, but he never did. He could have been incredibly powerful if he’d just put his pride aside long enough to see the big picture.”

The former king gazed at his daughter sadly. “Was it pride?” he asked. “Or was it something else? Did you ever ask him?”

“It’s easy to be a Master Pilot,” Allura argued. “There hadn’t been a Master Ascender in well over a dozen periods.”

“True enough,” Alfor agreed. “But if Lance did give in to the pressure and began studying to be a Master Ascender, it would have been unlikely that I would have had the chance to make him your Sentinel.”

Allura sat up suddenly. “What?” she gasped. “What do you mean?”

“Had Lance chosen to be a Master Ascender,” her father said, “then I would have been forced to give Lauma the title of Sentinel, and Lance would have attended the festival that night and died with the others.”

The princess blanched and looked down at the flower in her hand. “I didn’t…” she whispered. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know, Allura,” Alfor said gently, “and more importantly, so does Lance.”

“He was there, Father,” Allura said, bowing her head to hide her gaze. “He said he was there when Mo-Mother died.”

The former king’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “Yes,” he murmured. “Coran told me.”

“Why didn’t he tell _me?”_ Allura asked. “Coran and Lance never lied to me before.”

“Because Lance asked him not to,” her father said simply. “Your brother broke tradition by attending the festival early. He shouldn’t have been there. You know the punishment for breaking tradition like he did.”

Allura hunched in on herself. “Yes,” she murmured. “But wouldn’t that be overlooked considering wh- what happened?”

“Yes,” Alfor said, “and it was. He wasn’t punished and his presence there was dismissed.”

“By Coran,” Allura said.

Alfor nodded. “By him and by me,” he said. “I couldn’t act fast enough to save my wife,” he said, covering his face with his hand. “I wasn’t going to let Lance face a similar situation if I could avoid it.” He lowered his hand and his daughter saw tears trickling down her father’s cheeks. “It feels like losing a part of yourself you never knew was there. Altea hadn’t known war for so long that the Sentinels had become lax in our handling of the Heir’s protection.”

“But,” Allura said hesitantly, “you were-”

“Just as guilty as my predecessors,” Alfor said. “Had I taken my duty as seriously as I should have, then I would have been there with Lakshmi that night.”

“But the Lions needed to be looked after,” the princess insisted, scooting closer to her father’s memory.

“That could have waited,” her father said gently but firmly. “It should have waited. But I made a decision and dealt with the consequences of my actions.”

Allura pressed her lips together, keeping her argument from escaping her mouth. No matter what she said, she wouldn’t change her father’s mind so she held her silence.

“I had ordered Lance to wait for me at the Collegium,” Alfor said. “But he snuck out to the festival to be with Alwida. She had asked Lance to accompany her as her companion before I handed my title over to him. He was keeping his promise to her and it very nearly cost him his life.”

Allura blew the delicate petals from the juniberry flower in her hand so their broke free and fluttered away. “He… He accused me of keeping my feelings bottled away because I’m barren,” she whispered.

“Ah,” her father said, nodding. “Now we reach the heart of the matter. Were his words true, daughter?”

Allura flushed. “I- Partially, yes,” she admitted. “But I also do not wish to start a relationship that has very little chance of surviving this war.”

“You brother has,” Alfor said gently and Allura dropped her gaze.

“He wasn’t exactly given a choice in the matter,” the princess said. “You know that.”

“I do,” the former king acknowledged. “But I also know that something has grown from that relationship that is strong enough to convince Lance to lie with his mate. That isn’t something to be looked down on.”

“I don’t look down on it,” Allura said shaking her head. “I just wish he wouldn’t allow himself to be hurt just because he thinks he’s supposed to die.”

“He thinks what?” Alfor asked curiously.

“Lance believes he’s supposed to die for me,” Allura said. “He thinks he’s expendable. He isn’t. I can’t lose him, father. I _can’t_ ,” she said fiercely. “He’s my brother. He’s the only family I have left. I love him. I just want what’s best for him. I don’t want to settle for something less just because he thinks its not worth it or that he doesn’t deserve it or that he’ll die before he can reach it or whatever excuse his mind keeps coming up with to explain his behavior.”

Alfor sighed. “I suppose that will never be something you and Lance ever agreed on,” he said. “It’s unlikely you will ever change his mind. People don’t change like that, Allura. That is a life lesson that will always remain true.”

“Be that as it may, it still isn’t right,” Allura insisted.

“Who are you to declare what is and is not right for him?” her father asked. “What may be right for you may not be right for another person. No one person is the same as another. That is both a blessing and a curse.”

The princess’s shoulders drooped. “I know that,” she said softly. “I do know that, Father. But I just…” She sighed. “I only want the best for him. He’s my brother. Seeing him refuse to be all that he can be, it… It isn’t right.”

“No,” Alfor admitted. “No, perhaps you’re right. But he is happy as he is, is that not so?”

Allura hesitated, lifting her gaze to her father’s. “To be honest,” she said, “I’m not sure anymore.”

“What do you mean?” her father asked, settling into a more comfortable position on the holographic grass.

“Had you asked me that before the Great War, I would have agreed with you,” Allura explained. “But now I… I am no longer sure. I’m not sure of many things anymore. It seems like the only familiarity I can find is here in this place,” she gazed out at the field that existed in this room and her memory alone. “I no longer recognize the universe I live in anymore. I feel as if I have fallen into an abyss of reality that is so tangled in a nightmarish dream that I can no longer differentiate between them.”

The former king of Altea bowed his head in silence.

“I don’t blame you for what you did, Father,” Allura said, reaching out to touch his semi-solid form. “Truly, I don’t.”

“You may not, but I do,” the king said reluctantly. “I made a decision. Perhaps it was not the best decision, but it was the only option I saw as viable at the time.”

“You wanted us to live,” Allura said, smiling. “That cannot be faulted.”

“No,” Alfor agreed. “But my methods perhaps could be. Not a day went by that I did not gaze at your sleeping faces and dream of hearing your voices fill the Castle halls once more. It was too quiet. I often caught myself speaking nonsense just to fill the silence with noise.”

The princess shuddered. “Father?” she asked.

“Yes daughter?”

“Do you…” she hesitated, chewing her lip nervously. “Do you think someone will miss us when we’re gone? When this war is over and we die or we die before we win, do you think anyone will miss the Altean race?”

The former king grimaced. “I would hope so,” he said. “But I don’t think we’ll know that until it’s too late for us to know anything. Although,” he added with a quirk of his lips, “perhaps this person you are interested in would miss you.” His daughter had the grace to blush and Alfor’s smile widened. “Tell me about this person.”

“He… His name is Shiro,” Allura said. “He’s the black paladin.” She winced when she saw the tightening around her father’s eyes. “The other paladins call him ‘Space Dad,’” she said to break her father from his dark thoughts.

It worked. Alfor laughed merrily at the nickname. “Space Dad?” he repeated. “That sounds wonderful.”

Allura smiled and began regaling her father with stories of one Takashi Shirogane.

* * *

 

“How much longer?” Keithek demanded.

“I need to be careful with the calibration, here,” Pidge said through the arena’s loudspeaker. “You don’t want to accidentally get hit, do you?”

“Why do I think you’d enjoy that?” Keithek muttered.

“Because I would,” the green paladin said snickering. “But I doubt you would and I don’t know about you, but I’m not necessarily in the mood to listen to another lecture from Space Dad.”

That…was true. Keithek slipped back into another defensive crouch and held his bayard sword at the ready. “Start training sequence level three,” he commanded the A.I. controlling the arena.

A tick later, a computerized gladiator dropped from the ceiling and landed on the ground a span in front of Keithek. It stood and began advancing towards him. He activated his shield with his free arm and counted to three before leaping forward with his sword raised.

The sound of metal clashing against metal rang in his ears and he grinned. This level was a bit of a challenge and Keithek didn’t particularly like fighting inanimate objects. They didn’t have eyes that gave hints of future movements, muscles that twitched revealing a feint, the loud battle cries of living warriors. The Altean gladiators were silent and cold which made them difficult to read. Keithek could sometimes catch the faintest hint of a rhythm to the gladiator’s attacks before it changed things up again leaving Keithek to start his calculations all over again.

At least fighting the gladiator gave him a break from small, swift robots with agile maneuvering ability and shots that stung when they hit. He was getting the hang of Pidge’s Earth based targeting system, but he thought it was better suited for a three-dimensional space with open space above and below him. As it was, Keithek had a floor beneath him that prevented him from utilizing that part of the targeting system. But it was apparently mirrored by the area above him.

His distracted thoughts cost him a hit that tossed him back so he landed hard on his back. He rolled to absorb the impact and got to his feet, huffing from the force of the blow. He stood and felt his leg ache. Frustrated but not willing to injure himself during something as insignificant as a practice duel, Keithek bit back his pride and surrendered.

“End program,” he commanded.

The gladiator began advancing towards him once more. Maybe Pidge hadn’t heard him.

“End program,” Keithek repeated louder.

Now the gladiator was running full speed at him.

“Pidge, end program now!” Keithek cried, raising his bayard blade just in time to deflect a downwards slash that made him buckle under the force. “Pidge!” he shouted.

The gladiator kicked him in the gut and knocked Keithek’s bayard from his grip. It clattered to the floor a half span away from him, too far for him to reach. He dropped to his knees to avoid another slash that would have easily cut him in two and scrambled across the floor to his weapon. The gladiator’s metal feet thundered across the arena as it gave chase.

Keithek grabbed his bayard but not soon enough to avoid a heavy metal boot to the head. Stunned, he landed hard but forced himself to roll, narrowly avoiding another strike. He heard the whistle of the air as the gladiator’s blade swung past his ear. This wasn’t a practice duel, he realized. This was serious.

He quickly got to his feet and instantly wobbled, stars bursting across his vision. The blow to his head must have been harder than he thought. He groaned and shook his head, immediately regretting the move when his balance wavered.

“Keith!” Pidge shouted over the speaker. “Twelve o’clock and thirty-five degrees up.”

Keithek obediently raised his bayard blade to the green paladin’s specified direction and brace for impact. The strike was just as hard as the previous blows, but this time Keithek had been ready. He rode the force of the impact backwards before translating it something he could use. He pushed up against the gladiator, knocking it back and slashed from left to right. A ringing clang echoed in the arena indicating he’d made a glancing blow.

“Two and twenty down,” Pidge said.

Keithek activated his shield and held it so it blocked the direction his friend indicated. His shoulder tensed, ready for the gladiator’s strike. The moment the gladiator struck his shield, Pidge shouted.

“Two and thirty down.”

Keithek stabbed forward with his bayard at thirty degrees downwards and felt the gratifying feeling of his blade striking flesh, or whatever the gladiators were made of. He saw the explosion of sparks when the gladiator was defeated and stood up, tossing a glare at the control room where he knew Pidge was. His vision was returning but it the bright light was beginning to hurt his eyes more than it had been before.

“What the frell, Pidge!” he demanded furiously.

“That wasn’t me, I swear,” Pidge shouted back. She sounded just as distressed as Keithek probably looked. “I have no idea what happened but I swear I didn’t do anything.”

“Right,” the red paladin growled, his ears flattening against his head. “And you just so happened to use your new targeting technique right then. It was just a coincidence.”

“I’m telling you, that wasn’t me,” Pidge said, leaning against the control room’s windows overlooking the arena below where Keithek stood. Rover hovered by her shoulder flashing excitedly. “You know we weren’t working with the gladiators yet, just the firing drones. This is a program designed for dealing with aerial attacks from above or below, not land-based attacks in hand-to-hand combat.”

He huffed but nodded reluctantly. “Whatever,” he grumbled, eyeing the empty arena suspiciously. “If it wasn’t you, then what was it?”

“No idea,” the green paladin said. “I’m running a diagnostic right now to figure that out. It wasn’t anything I did, that’s for sure.”

Keithek deactivated his bayard and began walking to the door.

“Hey,” Pidge called. “Where’re you doing?”

“I’m calling it,” Keithek said. “I’m going to get some food. This Castle obviously has a few glitches that Coran will have to look at. I’ll send him over when I get to the kitchen.”

“You’re just being lazy,” Pidge grumbled. “It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“That robot just tried to _kill_ me,” Keithek snapped. “I’d say that’s a big deal.”

“You’re probably overreacting. You did say to start training at level three,” Pidge said, her voice in the speaker sounding like she was distracted by something. “Maybe it interpreted that to mean Level Three Gladiator and not Level Three Target Drone.”

“Either way, it still tried to kill me,” the halfbreed said. “Look, Pidge, this has just been a long day, so I’m going to get food. You can come with me or stay here. I’m still going.”

“Lazy bones,” the green paladin muttered just loud enough for Keithek to hear before the door to the arena slid shut behind him.

Keithek ran a hand through his hair and grimaced when he felt the greasy strands. Lance would probably complain about it if Keithek didn’t wash it soon. Oh well. He was sweaty anyway. Might as well take a shower after sending Coran in to help Pidge figure out whatever happened in the training arena and getting a bite to eat.


	6. Iolite: releases discord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Coran coaxes Lance out of his room and Shiro accidentally sends him back to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Sorry this is a bit shorter than I'd prefer. I have work tomorrow and have to have an outline for my thesis proposal ready by Thursday. I haven't started... *hides*

Coran hesitantly knocked on the door to the princess’s room. He wasn’t necessarily surprised when he didn’t receive an immediate response. Allura was probably sleeping. She should be sleeping anyway. He knocked once more before opening the door and poking his head inside. He had standing permission to enter the royal siblings’ rooms at any time though he rarely used that power unless it was important.

The room was dark, which was to be expected, but the princess’s bed was empty. A soft squeak from a small jewelry box on the bedside table caught his attention. He smiled fondly when one of the mice that frequently rode on his princess’s shoulders poked its head out of the jewelry box with a string of beads dangling from its head.

Chuckling, Coran stepped into the room and strolled over to the mouse, holding out his cupped hands for the mouse to climb into. The big green mouse crawled out of its makeshift bed and slid into Coran’s hands, its fur tickling his skin.

“At least someone was doing what they were supposed to do,” the advisor said wryly.

The green mouse squeaked and sat up as if asking Coran what he meant.

“Well, my little friend, Allura was supposed to be sleeping here too,” Coran said, glancing at the empty bed as he walked back to the hallway. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Allura is now, would you?”

The mouse squeaked and affirmative and pointed to the right. Coran’s shoulders slumped. “I was afraid of that,” he sighed. “How ‘bout you and I go put our lady to bed, hmm?”

The mouse squeaked and settled comfortably in Coran’s hands bringing a smile to the Altean’s face.  Coran should have known the princess would be with her father on the holodeck, but he had hoped she would be sleeping. She was still weak from the Balmeran energy exchange, no matter vehemently she wanted to deny it.

Allura wanted to be useful, not just a pretty figurehead. Coran could definitely understand that desire. He struggled with it often himself. He wasn’t a paladin or the Sentinel or the Heir. But he was beginning to realize that he still served a purpose for the time being. It had taken Shiro sitting with him for hours the other night to help him see that.

He doubted Allura had experienced a similar eye-opening moment. She would soon, Coran had no doubt. Everyone in their little team would find their place and settle into it like an egg in a nest. Hopefully, after their visit to the Human’s home world Earth, they would all have a better focus in their end goal. They had to defeat Zarkon, find Pidge’s family from wherever the Galra had taken them, and free the enslaved worlds from the Galra Empire. Lofty goals to be sure, but Coran firmly believed it was possible. It would just take a while.

As he strode past the prince’s room, he paused. He was in the middle of reaching for the access panel when the door hissed open revealing a very frazzled and exhausted looking prince.

“Lance,” Coran gasped. “What in the world have you been doing? You look horrible.”

Lance shot the advisor a weak glare. “Thank you for the compliment,” he said dully. He pressed a hand to his temple, rubbing it gingerly. “I was napping.”

“You’re a very bad liar, your highness,” Coran said, lifting an eyebrow.

Lance stiffened, his eyes widening. Then he huffed and straightened. “So I’ve been told,” he mumbled. He noticed the mouse in Coran’s hands and petted it with two of his fingers. A smile tugged at his lips upwards when the tiny creature squeaked and grabbed one of his fingers and held it still so it could nuzzle it. He turned his hand palm up so the mouse could climb up onto his hand.

“They certainly have a better attitude than their mistress,” Lance said.

“You two fought again, didn’t you,” Coran said with a heavy sigh. It wasn’t a question and Lance didn’t bother answering. “I worry about the both of you sometimes,” Coran said, shaking his head and placing a hand on the young prince’s shoulder. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not unless you can reverse time,” Lance said, refusing to meet the advisor’s eyes. When he finally did, Coran grimaced and Lance saw it. “Do I really look that bad?” Lance asked hesitantly, stopping himself from touching his scar. Instead, he pressed his hand to the Mark on his neck.

“You look tired,” Coran clarified. “Did you sleep at all?” Lance shrugged and Coran knew he hadn’t. “Why not?” he asked. “You and Allura are both exhausted. The last few cycles have taken a lot out of you both. You’ll run yourselves into the ground if you aren’t careful.”

Lance sighed. “I will tonight,” he said.

“You’ll rest now,” Coran said firmly, crossing his arms and giving Lance his best parental glare.

The prince blinked in surprise. “You can’t tell me what to do,” Lance said without thinking.

“Maybe not,” Coran agreed. “But what if I get Shiro to come tell you instead?”

Lance ducked. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“I’ll be right back,” Coran said, turning on his heel and strolling to the lift to find Shiro.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Lance said quickly. “I’ll sleep, just… I’m just hungry.”

Coran glanced over his shoulder to see his prince’s face flushed and his eye sparkling nervously. “Well, come along then,” Coran said, nodding towards the lift. “We’ll get something in your belly, then put you to bed.”

Lance grumbled but set the mouse on his shoulder and followed the advisor into the lift at the end of the hall. Coran worried for the boy, but food was a good enough reason to delay sleep for a little while at least. He just hoped Lance and Allura didn’t meet up just yet. He had a feeling that would be disastrous given the siblings’ current mental and emotional states.

* * *

 

Allura was in the cafeteria when they arrived and suddenly Lance wasn’t too hungry anymore. But he knew Coran wouldn’t let him just slip away now. Besides, even if he did sneak out, he wouldn’t be able to hid anywhere for long. Especially with one of his sister’s mice on his shoulder. Reluctantly, Lance settled in for an awkward meal.

At least Hunk was here too. But where were Pidge, Shiro, and Keith? As if on cue, Shiro strode into the mess hall and made a beeline for the food hose.

“Don’t worry, man,” Hunk said, grabbing a plate and handing it to the black paladin. “I got you.”

Shiro took the offered plate with a smile and held it patiently while Hunk squeezed a healthy dollop of the green Human-dubbed ‘food goo’ onto the dish. When Shiro waved, Hunk stopped the flow of goo and hung the hose back on its handle.

“Thanks,” Shiro said politely, patting the yellow paladin’s shoulder before walking to the table where Allura already sat eating her food.

Lance hesitated at the doorway watching Coran walk into the room first. The mouse on his shoulder was silent as well.

“Hello all,” Coran said cheerfully. “How is everyone? Anything happen with Sendak, Shiro?”

Shiro’s expression darkened and he took a sip of nunvill. “No,” he said, setting his cup down. “Nothing. He’s in there, I know he is. He just won’t give in.”

Coran sighed. “Well, I did warn you,” he said. “That technology wasn’t meant to be used on an unwilling participant. Don’t be surprised if nothing happens today. Now, if nothing happens by tomorrow afternoon, I think we might have to call this a failure, princess,” he added to Allura.

“Maybe,” the princess said, setting her spork down in the plate with a soft clatter. “But we have to try. We need the information. Anything at this point could be useful.”

“Hi Lance,” Hunk called when he noticed the prince standing awkwardly in the doorway. “You hungry?” Hunk held up his plate of food goo with a smile. “There’s plenty if you want any.”

Lance hesitated before stepping into the room.

* * *

 

Shiro saw what Hunk probably didn’t. The way the princess stiffened at her brother’s name, the way Lance deliberately avoided looking at his sister, the sad droop to Coran’s shoulders… Something had happened between this morning and now that had caused tension between the siblings. From the looks of it, they’d had another fight.

When he had the chance, Shiro caught Coran’s eye and lifted an eyebrow in a silent question. The advisor nodded reluctantly and Shiro winced. So there had been a fight of some sort. It was probably a bad one if Allura and Lance hadn’t reconciled yet. If they didn't reconcile soon, then things could get tense when the Galra eventually attacked and the team had to form Voltron.

“I’m going to open a wormhole to your world this evening, so I’ll need coordinates to jump to,” Allura said, startling Shiro.

“What?” he asked intelligently.

“I’ll need coordinates for a safe place to jump to,” Allura repeated, furrowing her brow as she studied Shiro’s expression. “For when we return to your home world tonight. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Oh,” Shiro said. He leaned back in his chest and crossed his arms in thought. He clicked his tongue and considered the options. “If I could choose, I think it would probably be best if we flew in close to Jupiter or behind the moon. You’ll have to ask Pidge but last I checked, we don’t have any satellites orbiting Jupiter at the moment. The last one we had self-destructed in 2018 and we haven’t launched any more to replace it yet.”

“Juno, yeah,” Hunk said, plopping down in the seat next to Shiro. Hunk stuffed a spork full of food goo in his mouth and said with his mouth full, “We still have a few satellites orbiting Jupiter’s moons, but it shouldn’t be too big of a deal. Oh! Or we could stop by Saturn. We could hide the Castle under the rings.”

“That’s a good idea,” Shiro said. “I forgot about that.” He crossed his arms and slid down in his seat so he could stretch out his legs and cross his ankles. “That could work. But there’s still Saturn’s moon, Titan.”

“Yeah,” Hunk mumbled. “I bet NASA and JAXA are working on trying to get another manned crew out there.”

“Out where?” Pidge said, walking into the mess hall followed closely by a sweaty looking Keith.

Shiro let his head loll over the back of the chair so he could see the green paladin upside down. “Oh, hey Pidge,” he said, lifting his hand in a friendly wave. “Did you run Keith to exhaustion yet?”

Keith groaned and rolled his eyes, his ears twitching. “More like the training program glitched and tried to kill me,” the red paladin said.

“What?” Shiro demanded, sitting upright and turning to look at his teammate correctly.

“Kill you?” Lance gasped, looking up from his plate in shock.

“It wasn’t trying to kill him,” Pidge groaned. “Keith’s being dramatic.”

“The gladiator program wouldn’t stop when I ordered it to,” Keith said, taking one of the two empty seats left at the table. “It wasn’t using a basic training mode weapon either. It was really hitting me.”

“That’s not supposed to happen,” Allura said, surprised by the halfbreed’s story. “Coran, could you look into that, please?”

“Of course, princess,” the advisor said.

“I’m telling you, Keith’s probably just being dramatic,” Pidge said, taking the last empty seat and digging in to her food goo. “I checked and double-checked the systems responsible for the gladiator training program. There aren’t any bugs that I could find.”

“Just because you couldn’t find them doesn’t mean they aren’t there,” Hunk said.

The green paladin shot a glare at her friend. “Are you questioning my computer skills?” she asked dangerously.

“No one’s perfect, Pidge,” Shiro said, stepping in before an argument could begin. Lord knew Team Voltron didn’t need another fight right now. “You may be great at Earth computers, but no one’s judging you with alien tech.”

“Who’re you calling ‘alien?’” Lance muttered. “This isn’t your spaceship, you know?”

“It’s not yours either,” Allura said suddenly and Lance tensed.

“Not the best word,” Shiro said quickly, holding up a hand to forestall any further discussion. “Sorry. Look, all I’m saying that no one’s perfect and no one’s expecting perfection. Pidge,” he said, looking at the youngest paladin, “Coran’s going to give the training program a once-over. Lance,” he looked at the ruffled prince, “I didn’t mean ‘alien’ as an insult. It’s a word I use out of habit and nothing else. I didn’t mean to offend you. Allura,” he said, looking at the princess, “can we talk?”

Allura looked at Shiro curiously, probably caught off guard by the request. Nevertheless, she nodded. “If you want,” she said.

“I do,” Shiro said, sliding his chair back and standing.

“Now?” Allura gasped.

“Yes,” he said, waiting for the princess to stand and follow him. When they stood in the corner, hopefully out of earshot, Shiro asked the question that had been burning his curiosity since Lance and Coran had arrived. “What’s going on between you and your brother?”

The princess stiffened, her eyes wide. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said, schooling her expression and clasping her hands in front of her.

“I’m not mad,” Shiro said gently. “And I’m not judging or jumping to any conclusions. I only want to know what’s going on with you two. You must have had some sort of disagreement and that’s fine. But you can’t let it interfere with the dynamics of the team.”

“I’m well aware,” Allura said calmly.

“I know you are,” Shiro said, holding up his mechanical arm in a placating manner, “and I’m not trying to imply otherwise. But you need to be aware that we can’t afford to be split right now.”

“I know,” the princess said. “It won’t last. It never does.”

“I believe it,” Shiro said nodding. “But when we get back to Earth, we’ll have to be careful not to blow our cover. Since I was last on Earth, we still hadn’t officially made First Contact with a race from another planet. Unless that’s your goal, in which case I’ll stand behind you. But if it is your goal, then we have to be united now more than ever. There is no central government of Earth. It’s a collection of over 200 sovereign nations that sometimes work together and sometimes don’t.”

“We have a history of fighting amongst ourselves,” Shiro continued. “But piss enough of us off and we’ll unite against a common enemy. Just don’t expect us to accept that you come in peace without question.”

The princess narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “I’ll think on your words,” she said seriously. “I’ll fly the Castle out behind the planet Saturn. Come with me and give me the coordinates. I’ll make the jump now.”

Shiro nodded. “Alright,” he said. “Guys,” he called back to the others in the mess hall, “change of plans. We’re making the wormhole jump now. We’ll try coming out near Saturn’s rings.”

“We’ll be home tonight?” Hunk gasped.

Shiro glanced at the princess then shook his head. “I need to fill Allura in on how the governing situation of Earth works,” Shiro said.

“And you’re a year behind,” Pidge said. “So Hunk and I will help you out with that.”

“We’ll do that tomorrow,” Shiro said nodding. “Right now, why don’t all of you get some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”

“We’re going home!” Hunk crowed, raising his fist up in in excitement. “Pidge, we’re goin’ home!”

Shiro noticed the way Lance’s face twisted a second before the prince stood and stalked out of the mess hall.

“Lance?” Hunk called. “Lance, you okay?”

The black paladin sighed. He’d forgotten how hard this would probably be on the Alteans. He and his friends were going back home, but Allura, Lance, and Coran had no home to ever go back to. He dropped his gaze turning back to Allura.

“Ready when you are,” he said.

Allura nodded and turned to walk down the hallway. Shiro moved to follow, pausing when he noticed movement behind him. He glanced back and breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw Keith stand and follow after Lance. At least the prince wouldn’t be alone.


	7. Smoky Quartz: elevates mood, relieves depression, & balances sexual energy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance is helpless to do anything but feel and Commander Iverson needs a good, stiff drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** And I've upped the rating to Explicit because this chapter is mostly just porn. Not that y'all are complaining I bet. ^_~

“Go away.”

“No.”

“Go away.”

“No.”

“I am not in the mood to talk right now.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Then stop following me.”

“Those two things have nothing to do with each other.”

“You’re still following me.”

“You’re still talking.”

“I am not talking.”

“You’re moving your mouth and sounds are coming out in forms that translate into words that make sense.”

“Blagh-blarg-gobbledy-gook.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re talking.”

“You’re obnoxious.”

“And you’re still talking.”

“Technicalities.”

“Technicalities that are continuing to happen therefore rendering your argument annulled.”

“Tha-” Lance actually stopped in his tracks and turned back to Keith who also stopped just a pace or so behind him with a vaguely impressed expression. “That was unexpectedly eloquent.”

Keith tilted his head and eyed his mate dubiously. “Are you insulting me?” he asked.

“Maybe,” Lance said with a shrug.

“You’re a jerk,” Keith grumbled.

“I thought that was obvious,” Lance said, snickering.

“You are very hard to deal with sometimes,” Keith said with a sigh.

The prince shrugged. “I was the middle child,” he said. “I had to stand out somehow.”

The red paladin rolled his eyes. “I doubt you had to work too hard for that.”

Lance hummed. “Latif was worse.” He snickered, turning to continue walking down the hallway. “This one time, he and Alwida dyed Allura’s hair red.”

“They… They what?” Keith asked. “Why?”

“Because they could,” Lance said. “She was going to present at the System Lords’ Moot for the first time and they thought it’d be hilarious if she had red hair,” he said.

“Was it?” Keith asked in cautious amusement.

"By the Lions, yes,” Lance declared proudly. “I almost didn’t recognize her. She started yelling and throwing a fit which left quite an impression. From then on, she was instantly recognizable to everyone in our quadrant even when her hair was white again.” He threw his head back and cackled. “I think more people were interested in Alteans during that Moot than any of the others before that.”

“What about after?” Keith asked curiously.

Lance shrugged, his laughter fading. “I wouldn’t know,” he said. “We weren’t exactly active in politics unless it involved exploration and peacekeeping. We were thrust onto the main stage of the universal political field when we build Voltron to help defend ourselves and others we were sent to protect. But that was before I was born.”

Lance glanced back at Keith when he arrived at his bedroom door. “Voltron was never intended to be an offensive warrior, only a defender,” he said slowly. “After the Voltron introduction and then Allura’s hair fiasco, the only other time we were at the center of universal events was when the Galra attacked us.” He grimaced and opened the door to his room. “For once, we were the ones in need of defending and no one came to our defense.”

Keith lingered in the doorway watching Lance move about his room. The prince could feel his mate’s eyes on his back, watching his every move and strangely it didn’t feel odd or uncomfortable. He did turn around when he heard the door hiss shut again.

Keith was now inside the prince’s room but his eyes hadn’t left Lance’s body. Suddenly, Lance felt a slight quiver of energy dance along his spine. One of Keith’s ears twitched and his nostrils flared.

“You like me looking at you,” the red paladin said softly.

It wasn’t quite a question, but it could have been. Lance chose to ignore it and wait for more. However, he did flush and turned away to gaze at the image on the view screens. The Balmeran’s host star shone bright through the thick clouds covering the landscape stretching out from the Castleship. It was strangely beautiful. But nowhere near as beautiful as Altea.

Hands slipped around his waist and a firm chest pressed against his back. The prince sighed when something warm and familiar pressed between his behind hinting at what could happen if he let it. He knew it would help him feel better and it would certainly distract him from what was going on in his life at the moment. So without thinking too deeply about what he was doing, Lance pressed his bottom back against Keith’s crotch, rolling his hips just so.

The hands on his waist dropped to either side of his hips and tightened their grip. A soft purr reached his ears and Lance sighed, letting his eyelid droop to half-mast. He rolled his hips back harder, and felt his breath catch when Keith suddenly gripped him and ground into him.

“It’s too bright for this,” Lance mumbled, reaching out to the panel that would turn off the view screen.

The moment the view screen went dark, Keith pushed Lance onto the bed and climbed over him. The prince was breathing more deeply when Keith settled on his hands and knees, caging in his mate from above. Lance rolled to the side to look up at the red paladin’s face.

“Do you want something?” Lance asked.

A rumbling growl worked its way up Keith’s throat as the halfbreed’s violet and gold eyes narrowed with desire. It was flattering and Lance wanted that look to stay.

“How badly do you want me?” Lance asked, deliberately undoing his shirt and pants bindings. “Show me.”

“I’ll knot,” Keith warned.

“If you can last long enough,” Lance said, laying back on the bed beneath his mate.

Without breaking eye contact with Keith, Lance slid down the bed sheets until his face was even with the growing bulge in the halfbreed’s pants. He reached up and pulled Keith’s hips down so he could nuzzle the hot bulge and mouth it through his mate’s clothes. Keith made an adorable sound that was halfway between a keen and growl when Lance nipped the fabric covered penis.

Working quickly, Lance undid his mate’s pants, pushing them down and away so he could fully appreciate the sight before him. Keith’s penis was stiffening but clearly had a ways to go before it was ready to push into Lance’s body. Good thing the prince was interested in helping that along.

He slowly took Keith’s penis in his mouth, simply sliding up the hot pulsing flesh until the tip touched the back of Lance’s throat. Keith groaned and buried one hand in the prince’s dark hair to hold it in place. The red paladin’s hips were shaking, clearly fighting the urge to thrust into Lance’s wet heat. Then Lance swallowed and Keith didn’t bother holding back anymore.

Lance tried alternating between sucking and keeping his cheeks relaxed as his mate thrust into his mouth rather forcefully. He surreptitiously stuck two fingers inside himself and began thrusting into his own bottom, trying to keep pace with Keith fucking his face. The prince hummed around his mouthful when he added a third finger and Keith growled in response.

The next thing Lance knew, his mouth was empty, he’d been dragged up the bed, and flipped over so he lay face first on the mattress. Before he could formulate a question, Keith was on top of him, draping over him, and pressing his hot, freshly wet penis into his hole. Caught by surprise, Lance gripped the blankets beneath him and tried to spread his legs further but was hindered by his pants. He groaned and tried kicking his pants down his legs with very little success.

Hands gripped Lance’s pelvis and lifted it slightly so Keith could finish inserting his entire length into him. It felt hot, so very hot. The Blue Lion purred in her paladin’s mind and sent a pulse of bone chilling cold into Lance’s core causing him to shiver. In response, Keith thrust into him eliciting a startled cry from the prince. Fortunately, Keith held blessedly still so Lance could get used to the intrusion. Unfortunately, Keith’s penis was growing in size and filling Lance up to the point of near pain.

Lance tried to spread his legs so body didn’t grip his mate so tightly, but found himself pinned by Keith’s weight. Then the halfbreed thrust down into him and it became difficult to keep a hold of his own thoughts.

“Keith,” he murmured, turning his head so the injured side of his face pressed into the blankets.

He could barely move in this position but it was thrilling in a way that sent feathers fluttering in his belly. It felt so good like this, unable to move at will, completely at the mercy of his lover. The last time he’d been bound like this, it hadn’t been something he’d enjoyed. But now, with Keith draped on top of him, the burning heat seeping into his skin, Lance found he not only wanted this, he needed it.

He shuddered when the Blue Lion’s cold filled him to the brim only to be melted away when Keith began thrusting into him. The rhythm was faster than it had been their first time together, but it was no less exhilarating. Strong hands gripped his wrists and maneuvered them so they were pinned between Keith’s stomach and Lance’s back. Then Keith’s right arm looped around the prince’s body and held them flush against each other. The halfbreed’s left hand helped position Lance’s hips, moving and adjusting them so Keith could find the best angle of entry.

The new position effectively removed any lingering control Lance had over the situation sending adrenaline racing through his system. He was completely and utterly helpless. The last time he’d felt this helpless, it had been Sendak hovering over him, binding him, attempting to make him submit. He hadn’t given in. He hadn’t then and he wouldn’t n-

_“Ah!”_

Keith laughed by the prince’s ear, feeling his mate’s body arch against him. “There?” he asked and forced his hips back down, burying himself in Lance’s bottom as hard as he could eliciting another half broken cry. “I will ruin you,” Keith whispered, his hot breath tickling the hairs by Lance’s ear, pounding into the prince. “I’ll make sure nothing and no one will ever measure up to what I can give you. I will ruin you for everyone but me. You are mine, Lance. _Mine.”_

“Ugh…ha…s-na…hard…er,” Lance pleaded.

The next thrust knocked the wind out of him. He struggled to meet his lover’s thrusts but found he couldn’t. He whined and his body shivered, his hole twitching and tightening around Keith.

“Submit,” Keith said, emphasizing his command with a well-placed thrust that made Lance’s body instinctively arch in pleasure.

Lance shuddered and gasped but shook his head.

“Submit,” Keith said again.

Lance grunted from the force of his lover fucking him into the bed, feeling tears begin to form in his eyes. His body ached and his skin tingled with sensation. He gasped and swallowed over his dry throat.

“Make me,” he said breathlessly.

He whimpered when Keith growled and began suckling his left eye scale. The sensation was overwhelming him, holding him tantalizingly close to the brink but never letting him fall. He gave a strangled cry when teeth scraping lightly across his eye scale’s surface.

“I am your mate,” Keith said, his wet lips brushing over the saliva soaked eye scale and cheek. “You are mine. I will overwrite everything that has been done to you until all you can think about is me. I will make you scream my name when you come.”

Lance gasped feeling his lover’s penis throb, the heat clashing with the cold of his body. He turned his face away from Keith’s attentions and buried it in the blankets. His hips pressed down into the mattress, wanting desperately to do what would be normal for anyone else, needing to climax but unable to even get hard. He gave a choked cry that was muffled by the blankets when Keith’s hot tongue licked a trail up his neck before delving into the folds of his ear shell.

“So…good,” he gasped. “M-more. Harder. Pl-please.”

“You have to come for me first,” Keith said, biting Lance’s ear hard.

Keith’s thrusts were getting erratic as his climax approached. The penis buried deep in Lance’s body began to swell, dragging a groan from the prince’s mouth.

“Submit to me,” Keith commanded.

Lance shook his head, his whole body moving with Keith’s.

“Submit.”

“Keith,” Lance gasped.

The halfbreed growled hungrily, “Submit, Lance.”

The prince trembled but turned his head so his neck was bared as best as he could in his current position.

“Good boy,” Keith murmured and bit the vulnerable Mark hard enough to break the top layer of skin.

Lance felt his entire body tense up at the compliment, his muscles clamping down on his lover’s erection until Keith finally spilled inside of him. Then the penis began to swell bringing with it more pain-tinged heat. He struggled weakly in Keith’s grasp, crying out and falling abruptly still when his lover bit down harder.

It hurt so bad but it felt so good. He couldn’t stop shaking as his hypersensitive body tried to make sense of what was happening to it. He was still unable to break free from his lover’s intimate embrace. Now with Keith’s knot fully expanded, he wouldn’t be able to move for a good few tecks or so.

“K…Keithek,” he breathed, loving the involuntary thrust of Keith’s hips when he said his lover’s full name. “Move.”

Keith purred and rocked his hips into Lance’s stuffed and plugged bottom. Lance felt the halfbreed’s soft ears tickle his cheek as Keith tried to pick up the rhythmic movements once more. Lance was overly sensitive to the point the intimacy bordered on pain, but he didn’t want it to stop. Ever.

“Make me submit,” he said, shuddering as another wave of cold flooded his body, combating the influx of heat from Keith’s unnaturally warm skin. “Don’t stop. Do me until I scream.”

Keith growled and moved, nudging Lance’s head to roll to the side with soft kisses. The moment the prince’s lips were within reach, Keith devoured them in a scalding kiss that promised so much more. When Keith finally pulled out of his lover, he’d come three time at Lance’s encouragement.

He never knew Lance hadn’t come once.

* * *

 

Iverson sat in the back of the coffee shop doing his best to stay out of the public eye. It hadn’t been easy since he came out as a whistle-blower. Thankfully, the nonprofit group that protected whistle-blowers like him had stepped up in his defense quickly and efficiently. Since the Galaxy Garrison was a civilian and military partnership focused mostly on training pilots and engineers for future space travel, the scandal had attracted a lot of attention both nationally and internationally.

Unfortunately, that also meant his face had been plastered all over the Internet and news networks. Honestly, it was the Internet side of things that been the most useful and the most terrifying. News traveled faster over the Internet and reached more people through that medium than any other, news channels included. The nonprofit group protecting his rights had made quick work of helping him spread the evidence as quickly and efficiently as possible.

But now, every time Iverson went on the Internet, he saw memes of his face floating around websites like Facebook. At the urging of the group, he’d deactivated his Facebook account. It was probably for the best considering the overwhelming response he’d received from the public. Most of the attention had been positive. No one liked the idea of involving children in cover-ups, especially if those children got hurt or killed.

But there were always those handful of idiots who were dead set on sending him hate mail and death threats. He laughed those off for the most part. He’d seen active duty on the battlefield. A few cowards who attacked with words over the Internet didn’t scare him. What did scare him was the possibility of those children never being found. He was fairly certain they were dead, but a part of him couldn’t help but hold out hope that they would find them alive and well. Even if the possibility of finding bodies, if that, was slowly becoming more and more realistic as the days passed.

He was meeting the mother of one of the children here shortly. It was the only reason why he was at a café at all. He preferred bars where he could drink and forget. But Mrs. Holt had asked for a café instead. It was an understandable request when Iverson thought about it, he just wasn’t used to this kind of setting. The people here were much younger and there was no alcohol to be found. Video phones were a dime a dozen though. He’d already caught several people snapping photos of him thinking they were so sneaky. Not by a long shot.

Still, he had to admit this place had good, strong coffee. It was hot and strong. It wasn’t as good as the café down the street that had a bar in it, but it would do.

He didn’t look up when a middle-aged woman walked into the café and ordered a coffee, but he recognized her reflection in the window. He lifted his drink to his lips when she came and sat at his small table, pulling out her computer and plugging it in.

“Commander Iverson?” she asked.

“Mrs. Holt,” he said.

“I don’t understand know why you wanted to speak with me,” she said. “Thank you for telling the truth of what happened to my husband and my son, but I’m not sure what else you could tell me that wasn’t released to the press.”

“Do you know where your daughter is, Mrs. Holt?” Iverson asked without prelude.

The woman stiffened and Iverson had to admit he admired her fortitude. Even caught off guard, Mrs. Holt did not drop her coffee like an over-dramatic heroine in a romantic comedy. Quite the opposite, in fact. Her eyebrows drew down and she gave Iverson a glare that, had she been in uniform, Iverson would have felt his job threatened. As it was, he was simply impressed and no longer wondered where Katie Holt had inherited her fiery temper from.

“Care to elaborate, Mr. Iverson?” she demanded, dropping the respectful title.

Ignoring the deliberate slight, the commander set his coffee down on the table and held up a hand to forestall Mrs. Holt’s formidable fury. “You’ve heard about the two children who went missing do the Garrison’s mishandling of events,” he said. She nodded. “Did you hear their names?”

“Hunk Palakiko and Pidge Gunderson,” Mrs. Holt answered promptly.

“Pidge Gunderson doesn’t exist,” Iverson said in a curt tone.

“What do you mean he doesn’t exist?” Mrs. Holt said.

“Pidge Gunderson was a pseudonym used by your daughter, Katie Holt,” Iverson said. “I’m sure you’re aware of her expulsion from the Garrison and its premises. She enrolled in the Garrison under the name Pidge Gunderson as an engineer.”

Iverson took another sip of his coffee and avoided Mrs. Holt’s eyes. She needed a moment to gather herself and he wasn’t so much of a dick that he wouldn’t kick her when she was down.

“She excelled in her classes and quickly settled into her team as the crew engineer,” Iverson said. “Her partner and dorm mate was Hunk Palakiko.”

“How… How do you know this?” the distraught mother demanded. “Why wasn’t I informed?”

The commander gave the woman a sharp look. “She enrolled as a male,” he said. “We did a background check, but your daughter is very proficient with computers and built herself a very robust personal history. No one noticed anything amiss until she slipped up. One of the men’s bathroom toilets clogged up from a tampon.”

Mrs. Holt pursed her lips and sat back in her seat. “I hardly see how that implicates Katie,” she said.

“It doesn’t,” Iverson said. “Except that I knew Pidge was Katie to begin with. With her hair short, she is the spitting image of her brother.”

The commander set his drink down and reached into his pocket to pull out a photograph he had clearly taken from some social media site. He placed the photo on the table and slid it towards Mrs. Holt.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought it best I told you in person so you didn’t hear it from the media or some other outlet. They wouldn’t have any answers for you if you questioned them.”

Mrs. Holt took the picture hesitantly, tracing her children’s faces with her fingernail. “So what you’re telling me is,” she swallowed back her tears, “both of my babies and my husband are dead?”

The commander sighed. “No,” he said slowly. “I’m saying I know your daughter was alive when I last saw her. It isn’t much,” he admitted. “But I thought you should know.”

Movement outside caught Iverson’s attention and he took one last sip of his coffee before gathering his things and standing. “I doubt you want to talk to anyone right now,” he said. “So I would advise you take an extended bathroom break.”

Mrs. Holt looked up at the commander in confusion before glancing over her shoulder to the street outside the café. Already, there was a someone who was clearly with the media hustling across the road towards the café. She tucked the photograph in her purse, unplugged her computer, and stood. As she ran to the bathroom with her computer in her hand, she chanced a look back at the entrance to the café and watched Commander Iverson delay the reporter.

She still resented the commander for the part he played in expelling her daughter and indirectly for the part the Galaxy Garrison played in the loss of her son and husband. Perhaps her family was lost to her for the time being, but it appeared she had an ally in getting them back.


	8. Purpurite: helps break from limited patterns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rolo and Nyma get ready for Market and Rolo makes a daring decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Just as predicted, I'm posting this at 2:15am. I just can't go to sleep before midnight anymore during NaNoWriMo, can I? *facepalm* Side note, I've created a Pinterest board for images I'm using as inspiration for the _Warmth_ series if anyone's interested. The locations in this chapter are the only one featured at the moment, but they may help with visualizations and such. Here's the link:
> 
> https://www.pinterest.com/aren_spiritus/warmth-series-inspiration/

Meserie was just as busy as he remembered. Hovercraft ferried potential buyers to and fro while those who preferred to walk strolled along the many interconnecting skypaths. Towering buildings rose from the surface of the planet like spires, sparkling in the eternal reddish sunset. The high winds from the planet’s surface buffeted the particle barrier surrounding the trading port.

Very few people lived here on a regular, extended basis. This was a stopover outpost meant for trading and discourse of both the legal and less than legal sort. The Galra knew better than to interfere with the dynamic of this little outpost. It may be small and on this out-of-the-way planet, but it thrived on anything and everything that was even remotely trade-able. No matter what it was.

It was here that Rolo and Nyma had had their first run-in with juniberry addicts. It hadn’t been a pretty sight, and neither trader had any desire to witness something so pathetic ever again. Too bad. A trade was a trade and no true trader would break such a sacred oath unless they wanted to lose any and all respectability. Respectability and integrity were like currency in the trading industry. If your customers couldn’t trust you, how could you expect to make a living?

The friends landed their recovered Galran transport on one of the few empty areas on the busy landing pad. It wasn’t one of the larger landing pads near the less prosperous district of the outpost.

The planet was tidally locked, so the side facing the system’s star was hot enough to melt lead, but the dark side of the planet was cold enough to freeze just about every lifeform in the known universe. The only habitable zone was the thin strip in the sunset part of the planet, stretching from pole to pole. The outpost of Meserie was located in the equatorial region of this habitable zone.

The particle barrier protected the settlement from the intense solar radiation and high winds. There were several portals that opened at regularly scheduled intervals to allow ships to enter and leave the system at will. The landing pads were located on the planet’s surface, protected by the particle barrier, while the main settlement of the outpost was located in the canyon that stretched for klicks to the north and south in the habitable zone.

Rolo used a few credits to rent a hover cart to carry his and Nyma’s wares to the common lift that would take them down to the lower levels of the canyon of Meserie so they could find a spot to set up shop. They came to Meserie frequently so they went ahead and rented out time slots for their preferred location in the mid-levels of the trade district.

The mid-levels were for the common populace, both the rich and the less so. The top levels of Meserie were where the higher echelons of the populace resided and conducted their transactions. Ironically, it was in the higher levels that most of the illegal transactions took place. What money couldn’t buy, power could get.

Nyma moved past Rolo and took a look around at their shop location. It was a decently sized plot of land that had a basic wood and metal structure with a clear plastic awning covering the raised mood and metal platform that would play host to their shop for the turn they’d reserved the site for. There was also enough room next to the open air shop for Nyma to set up the yurt that they would call home while they were here.

“You got the shop?” she called over her shoulder, setting her bag on the ground next to her.

“Yeah,” Rolo said, pulling the cart onto their property and pulling out their notice of reservation from his pocket. “Here,” he said, handing the notice to her, “hang this on the front of the shop, would you?”

“Sure.”

They’d been through this process so often that they no longer needed to announce what they were going to do. Their duties had become habit, ingrained into them after years of working and living together. Beezer buzzed and catalogued the items Rolo took off the cart so they had a record of them. As long as each item was logged, Rolo could keep track of what items were sold, which weren’t, and which went missing. It wasn’t a common occurrence for items to disappear but thievery still happened so it was always a good practice to have some form of insurance.

Nyma began unloading the necessary tools to set up their yurt next to the shop. It was just a circular structure made of metal and waterproof cloth; simple but easily set up, torn down, and comfortable to live in. The bathrooms were in the center of the plaza which was a downside of mass trading posts like these, but nothing they hadn’t dealt with before. It was a mild inconvenience only.

It took a full tock for Nyma to finish erecting the yurt on her own, but she felt smugly proud when she turned around to see Rolo still toiling away at setting up shop. She snorted.

“A bit slow today?” she teased.

Rolo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well,” he said, taking his time deciding where to place the glass encased plant in his hand.

This plant was considered rare and valuable so placing it in a location that was easily visible but hard to reach would be the best choice. So why didn’t he just put it on the top shelf?

“I’m not exactly functioning at full power right now,” he said with a sigh. “Think you can handle the shop while I take a look around?”

“Yeah,” Nyma said, flipping one of her long appendages over her shoulder. “I suppose I can suffer a couple tocks without you.”

Rolo snorted, pulling out the twig he’d been chewing on to shoot his friend a tolerant look. “Really?” he drawled. “I feel so loved right now. No, really. I feel like my heart could burst. You’re killing me.”

“Yeah, yeah, suck it,” Nyma said, tossing her jacket at his face. “Move your smeg and let me finish this.”

Rolo tipped his head in mock respect. “Anything for a beautiful-”

“Finish that sentence and I will make sure you don’t get any candied trollups,” Nyma said.

Rolo wisely shut his mouth and stepped out of their shop to the walkway. He shot a salute to his partner before strolling off with his hands in his pockets. The wind howled, buffeting the particle barrier far above the Meserie settlement. The reddish light from the permanent sunset filtered down into the canyon where it was drowned out by the warm, solar-powered white-yellow light from the lights and illumination stones dotting this trading platform. Lights from the towering buildings up and down the canyon around them added to the ambience that was both welcoming and familiar.

It really had been too long since he and Nyma had been back to Meserie. He was itching for a good trade, but it was still early yet for this Trade Market to begin. A few early trades would take place this cycle, but the market officially began tomorrow. This cycle was mostly for the traders to find their lots, set up, and get comfortable. Each Trade Market lasted a full turn before the current traders moved on and were replaced by the next group.

Still, Rolo thought grimly, he never thought he’d be ascending to the top levels in search of anything other than companionship. He preferred to stick to the mid-tier trade platforms. Moving higher meant rubbing shoulders with the elite, which meant more Galra.

He bit the twig in his mouth slightly harder than he meant to and the wood snapped. Startled, he caught the pieces in his hands and sighed sadly. Quiznak, that had been a good tasting piece of wood. What had it been called again? Tres-something-er-other. He’d have to remember what it was and get himself some more.

Tucking the pieces on his pocket, he strode up to the lift which was filled with traders stepping onto the trade platform and others preparing to ride back up to their ships on the landing pads or to the bars and lounges in the higher levels. Rolo could do with a stiff drink right about now. Good thing he knew the best bars on Meserie.

He shifted awkwardly when someone bumped into him in their rush to get onto the lift before it moved up to the higher levels and the landing platforms beyond. When the lift slowed down as they approached the top tier platforms and skypaths that connected to the sparkling buildings, Rolo pushed through the crowd and hopped onto the walkway.

A few skypath changes here and there, a skip down the next alley, and he came face-to-face with the entrance to Manset’s lounge Den Resistance. With any luck, Manset would be here and not off gallivanting who knows where. Manset was an honest man who happened to have his fingers in a lot of jars. Den Resistance was considered a local landmark among the more experienced trader crowd. Not much happened in Meserie that Manset wasn’t at least peripherally aware of. If anyone knew where someone could get a hold of the juniberry plant, Manset would.

Rolo stepped into the lounge, removing his aviator’s hat and goggles politely. His white hair stuck up at odd angles after he ran his hand through it, fluffing it out a bit. Technically speaking, he wasn’t dressed up enough for this place. Den Resistance was a casual enough bar, but that didn’t mean you could just waltz in fresh from space and covered in dust. In other words, Rolo was being rude. Oh well, story of his life.

“Rolo!”

Bless the endless stars. Rolo smiled and held out his arms in a welcoming gesture. “Manset,” he said.

“Rolo, you frellin’ bastard,” Manset said, yanking Rolo into his four-armed hug. “How have you been?”

Rolo coughed when he was squeezed by the crustacean-like Lorab’s bulbous belly. “Fine,” he wheezed, wobbling slightly when the lounge owner let him go. The smile on his face didn’t go away when one of Manset’s hands planted itself firmly on his shoulder. “Nyma and I are settin’ up camp for the turn.”

“You’re both here?” Manset asked happily, lifting his eyes to the area behind Rolo. “Is she here now?”

The trader shook his head. “No,” he said. “She stayed behind to finish setting up for the Market so I could come talk to you.”

“Aw, you missed me that much, did you?” the lounge owner said, guiding Rolo over to one of his booths by the oasis that served as the focal point of the lounge.

Blue-purple lights gave the lounge a watery, ethereal atmosphere that encouraged guests to rest and unwind after a long day. Stark white couches and benches were set in strategic locations of the lounge allowing people to gather in groups and talk in peace. Ottomans in deep reds and oranges separated by cubical, lit side-tables were scattered in between the couch nooks.

The entire lounge was designed so it encircled a large oasis filled with flora and fauna from many planets in the very center. The lounge’s bar served as the barrier between the lounge seating area and the oasis with the exception of four walkways at even intervals for guests to walk through into the oasis and relax.

It was a high class lounge that Rolo would normally never set foot in if it wasn’t for Manset. Manset had given Rolo and Nyma their first job and supported them throughout the years. They were close friends and often exchanged information the Resistance would find useful, both the Den and the rebellion. Manset was a brave bastard who had slowly but surely won the wary trust of the Galra who frequented Meserie. It was a prime opportunity that the rebellion couldn’t resist.

Rolo surreptitiously glanced around him for any unwanted ears before meeting his friend’s eyes once more. Manset had taken him to one of the less crowded sitting areas in the lounge for privacy. There were a couple Galra here but they were being respectable and were far enough away to only be a minor threat at the moment.

“I need your help,” Rolo said, cutting to the chase. “You’re not going to like it.”

“Oh dear,” Manset said, leaning forward, his eyes darkening with concern. “What happened? Are you alright, my friend?”

Rolo shrugged. “Our ship broke on a planetoid just off one of the lesser used trade routes,” he said. “We were hoping a Galra vessel would pass by but someone else did instead. You won’t believe this.” He leaned closer so he didn’t have to raise his voice much over the smooth music to be heard. “You know all that chatter we’ve been hearing about this Voltron character?” he asked.

“Yes,” Manset said nodding cautiously. Then his eyes widened. “You’ve met him?”

“Them,” Rolo corrected. “We were wrong. Voltron isn’t a person, it’s a team. There are seven of them in all. Five pilot the giant mechanical lions. Yes,” he said quickly, holding up a hand to forestall Manset’s disbelief, “I’m serious. And the other two pilot the mothership. Oh, and that mothership? It’s a castle. A flying castle.”

Manset gave Rolo a distrusting look before chuckling. “Good one, my friend,” he said jovially. “You had me going there for a second.”

“I’m serious, Manset,” Rolo insisted. “I wouldn’t lie to you. You know that.”

“I know that, Rolo,” the lounge owner said. “But I also know you enjoy telling a good story and I find this all very hard to believe.”

“It’s true,” Rolo said firmly. “Nyma and I traded with them. One of them hired us to spy for him.”

Manset’s eyes narrowed. “You turned him down, I hope,” he warned.

“Actually, no, we didn’t,” Rolo said, bracing himself for the weight of Manset’s judgmental disappointment. “He gave us a good faith gift,” he explained, “as well as some rather interesting information.”

“It had better be interesting, Rolo,” Manset said grimly.

The trader took a deep breath and explained to his friend as much of his and Nyma’s time with Team Voltron as he could, leaving out the bits he’d promised to keep secret. “That’s when he hired us,” Rolo finished. “Mans, they’re Altean.”

Manset had dropped his head in two of his hands while the other two hands braced themselves on his knees. “This is…” He shook his head, lifting it so he could meet Rolo’s gaze evenly. “I can’t say I approve of this,” he said finally. “But I agree, you made the right choice. Better to have potential allies close and under watch instead of distant and unreachable.” He sat quietly for a moment in thought. “Your new contact,” he said eventually, “does he have a name?”

Rolo hesitated. “He doesn’t want to know the names of our contacts to protect their identities,” he said slowly. “So, in return, I’d like to keep his name out of this as well.”

“Rolo,” Manset said, “this is more than just a matter of a fair trade. This… You’ve effectively handed over the reins of this operation to someone you don’t even know.”

“I didn’t ‘hand over the reins,’” Rolo argued. “I made a trade that was more than fair and I haven’t regretted it yet.”

“Yet,” Manset said, holding up a finger.

The trader rolled his eyes. “Look,” he said, “if we went about our lives only talking to people we trust, then we’d hardly have any information about anything. Let alone friends. That aside, you’re missing the point.”

“And what is the point, Rolo?” Manset said with a heavy sigh.

“Our contact is Altean, and so are two of the other members of Team Voltron,” Rolo said. “Better yet, according to our contact’s mate, a Galra halfbreed, the Alteans are all pure bloods. And on top of that, the three other members of Voltron are of a race I’ve never encountered before. Ever.”

That had the lounge owner lifting his eyebrows in open interest. “I’m listening,” he said.

“I’ve never seen anything like those three before and you know that means something,” Rolo continued. “They look similar to the Alteans but their ears aren’t pointed and they’re very informal in just about everything they do.” He smirked. “They also taught Nyma and me a new word.”

Manset snorted. “And this word would be?”

“Fuck.”

“What, like frak?” the lounge owner asked in amusement.

Rolo tilted his head in a half nod. “Sort of,” he said. “But more like…” He made a lewd gesture with his hands and Manset threw his head back in a deep belly laugh that had Rolo chuckling.

“Well I’ll be quiznaked,” Manset said. “I think I’d like to meet these new friends of yours.”

“That actually brings to me to the other reason why I’m here,” he said reluctantly.

He ducked his head to avoid eye contact as a flush crept into his cheeks. This was it. This was when he potentially gave up everything that made him a trader with integrity in order to fulfill a trade. It had taken him a while to eventually come to terms with this. But in the end, it had been the Altean prince’s confession of what the plant was used for that had spurred him to stick with his oath.

“You aren’t going to like this,” Rolo said slowly. “But I made a trade and I intend to keep my side of it.” He lifted his face and looked Manset directly in the eye. “I need you to tell me where I can get my hands on the juniberry plant.”

Instantly, all amusement and welcome vanished from the lounge owner’s face replaced by a dark, furious glare. Rolo took a deep, steadying breath and refused to look away. He’d made a promise in the form of a fair trade. He could not break something as sacred as that. He wouldn’t.

“I think it’s time you left,” Manset said gruffly.

“Mans-”

“Now, Rolo,” Manset said.

“I can’t do that, Mans,” Rolo said, not moving from his seat. “I made a fair trade to both my contact’s mate and my contact in Team Voltron. They need that plant, Mans.”

“I don’t deal in drugs,” Manset said, standing.

“It’s not a drug to them,” Rolo said, standing and moving to block Manset’s path. He was much smaller in both height and weight than the lounge owner, but there was a fire in his eyes that made Manset pause. “I won’t let you make an oath-breaker out of me,” Rolo said firmly. “You and I both know the juniberry plant isn’t a drug to the Alteans,” he said. “Three of the people in Team Voltron are Altean. In everything we’ve learned about that plant and that race -and you have to admit that in the grand scheme of things that’s very little- neither of us knew what purpose the plant served to the Alteans.”

Manset remained silent, but the quirk in his eyebrows made it clear he had noticed the past tense of the word ‘knew.’

“They're mutually symbiotic, Mans,” Rolo said. “Alteans and the juniberry plants. They’re essential to each others’ reproductive cycles. Without one, the other will die.”

“There haven’t been any pure blooded Alteans for thousands of periods, Rolo,” Manset said, “The few who can claim Altean blood these days are so inbred or their lines have been diluted by other races to the point that the Altean race is essentially lost.”

“Well clearly there’s enough Altean blood out there for the juniberry plant to still exist,” Rolo argued.

“If you believe your contact’s words, which I do not,” Manset said. “I’ve heard a lot of excuses from people desperate to get their hands on that drug.”

“Plant,” Rolo said.

“Drug,” Manset said fiercely. “But I never thought I’d hear any from you.”

That stung.

“What if I could prove it to you?” Rolo asked, hurriedly stepping aside to block Manset’s path once more. “What if I could prove to you that I’m not lying?”

“Then I would listen,” the lounge owner said slowly. “You’ve never lied to me before. But then again,” he said with narrowed eyes, “you never asked me for a drug before either.”

“Plant.”

Manset groaned. “If only you could hear yourself…” he said. “Rolo, you-”

“Is anyone going to serve me or should I seat myself?” a deep voice demanded loud enough to be heard throughout the Den Resistance lounge.

Both Rolo and Manset whirled to the unexpected guest in shock, but it was Rolo who gulped. “I’ll bring you the proof you need,” he said quickly, pitching his voice, "when that bastard’s gone.”

“You do that,” Manset said lowly. In a louder voice, he said, “I’ll be right with you, your highness.” He straightened his outfit nervously. “Go out the back way,” he said softly. “You know which one.”

Rolo nodded and slipped through the crowd of surprised guests. The last thing he heard before he closed the door behind him was Manset’s jovial voice.

“It’s an honor to host the great Prince Lotor himself. Please, let me escort you to the private lounge.”


	9. Aragonite: calms and allows for insight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rolo and Nyma may have a plan they may regret later but enjoy in the moment and Team Voltron is almost home, just in time for a red Niagara Falls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** With this chapter, I have officially passed the 50,000 word goal for NaNoWriMo!!! I'm considering the entire _Warmth_ series as one long story like it is on Fanfiction.net. Just counting the words I've written this November, I've passed 50,000 words now. Total, this series is over 200,000 words. ?!!!??!?!?!!!! *flails in excitement*
> 
> Now, I'm going to drive back to my apartment on my scooter and crash for the night. I'll edit this more thoroughly in the morning. Then I'm going to deep clean my apartment tomorrow before heading home for Thanksgiving Break. ^_^
> 
>  **Side note:** When Rolo says Nyma is asexual, he doesn't mean sexual orientation. He means literally asexual. As in doesn't reproduce sexually just like the Teiidae lizard I'm basing her species on. If you're confused, don't worry. Just Google "Teiidae" and be amazed by the all-female species of lizard that doesn't reproduce sexually, but still performs sexual acts to stimulate egg growth. It's so cool. YAY SCIENCE!!! *ahem*

It took every ounce of self-control Rolo possessed to not run back to the site Nyma was still setting up their shop at. But while his feet somehow managed to keep a steady pace, his thoughts were racing and swirling in mass confusion and fear. Lotor was here. Prince Lotor, son of Emperor Zarkon, was here on Meserie. Why?

Sure, Meserie was popular with races from all across the universe, the Galra included, but royalty didn’t just come here without reason. Lotor must be after something. Ever since the rebellion lost its last skirmish to the Galran prince, they’d been forced to lay low. The only plus side to the whole scenario was that the rebellion’s base of operations was still undiscovered.

Was that why Lotor was here? Was he still hunting the rebels? Stupid question. Of course he was. But had he found something that led him here? Fuck, this was going to make things difficult. Thank the stars for a fresh new curse word to make himself feel better.

“Nyma,” he called, stepping onto their reserved lot.

The lot was silent. The small, open air shop was fully stocked, and opaque particle barriers blocked access to it. That would protect their merchandise from thieves or overly curious customers for the night. The only light other then from the solar lights along the skypaths and scattered across the Market platform was from inside the yurt.

Without preamble, Rolo pushed the yurt’s cloth flap door aside, making sure to close it and activate the seal and temperature regulator as he did so. His movements were jerky and betrayed the fear that gnawed at his bones.

“Rolo?” his partner gasped, looking up from the portable heating table in the center of the yurt. “What the frell are you-”

“Did anyone stop by?” he demanded abruptly.

“What?” Nyma asked, her face twisting in confusion. “Why would-”

“Yes or no, Nyma,” Rolo snapped. “Yes or no. Did anyone stop by?”

Nyma set her cooking aside on a foldable stool nearby. “Why?” she demanded, her wide, pupil-less eyes studying her trade partner closely. The sapphire blue resembling the depths of the moon Khonsu. “What has gotten into you?”

“It’s Lotor,” Rolo said, turning on the program that changed the plasti-fabric windows of the yurt into one-way visibility. As long as there was power to the yurt, the windows would only allow people inside to see out. No one outside could see in. “He’s here on Meserie.”

“What?!” Nyma gasped. “What the frak is he doing here?”

“I have no idea,” Rolo snapped, tossing his hat to the bedroll and running his hands through his white hair nervously. “This isn’t a big Market,” he said, trying to force his mind to think and rationalize instead of panic. “It’s not even one of the biggest. The largest Market isn’t for another few galactic turns.”

“Calm down, Rolo,” Nyma said firmly. “How do you know he’s here?”

“I _saw_ him,” the trader said, staring fixedly out one of the yurt’s two windows. “He came to Manset’s lounge. I swear it scared the living quiznak out of him too.”

Nyma crossed her arms and leaned her weight on one hip, thinking hard. “Was he alone?” she asked.

“No. He had a few of his toys with him,” Rolo said with a disgusted sneer.

“For a prince of the Galra Empire, he doesn’t act much like a Galra, does he?” Nyma said wryly. “I thought the Galra valued their mates and fidelity.”

Rolo shrugged. “It’s probably _because_ he’s the prince that he gets away with it,” he said, shaking his head. “As far as I know, he hasn’t mated any of them. Just drugs them up and plays with them like dolls.” He spat. “Disgusting.”

He groaned and scratched the back of his head in frustration. “This is not what we need right now,” he said.

“Did you get anything from Manset while you were there?” Nyma asked, trying to change the subject.

“Not much,” he said, shaking his head in resignation. “He was in the middle of kicking me out for even asking for that fucking plant when the prince arrived. I had to promise to give him proof that I’m not lying about the plant’s properties for the Alteans just to get him to listen to me.”

His partner snorted. “And you’re going to get that proof from where exactly?” she asked.

Rolo shrugged dramatically. “I have no frelling idea,” he said in exasperation. “I’m not in the drug running business, and I never plan to be. It’s not like I keep proof of this kind of thing just lying around.”

“Hey,” Nyma snapped curtly. “Relax. Don’t raise your voice at me.”

“Sorry,” Rolo said, deflating. “I didn’t mean it.” Nyma nodded in acceptance. “Look, if you’ve got any suggestions, I’m all ears.”

He lifted his gaze to his partner hoping against hope that she could figure out a way for this to work. He was all out of ideas and Nyma had a sharp mind. She wasn’t his partner for nothing after all. They were a well-oiled team.

However, he wasn’t sure if he liked that look in her eyes right now. “Lotor is known for drugging his toys,” she said slowly, mulling over her words as she spoke them. She leaned back against the yurt wall and crossed her arms considering her options. “Do you happen to know what sort of drugs he uses?”

Rolo shook his head. “I can think of a few off hand, but I don’t know for sure which one he prefers,” he answered. “Why?”

“Think he uses juniberry?” she asked.

Rolo blinked and his mouth fell slack. “I don’t doubt it,” he said after a moment. “Probably not too much, though. It doesn’t take much of that stuff to be lethal.”

“Not that he cares,” Nyma said to which Rolo nodded with a shrug. “Alright, you need to get that plant, and I really need to get laid.”

Rolo shot her an odd look, his lips pulling up at the corners. “Aren't you asexual?” he teased.

“Hey,” she said. “Just because my people only have one gender doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy myself. Besides,” she added, a smirk playing across her face, “I have to test out my new bottle of Kadesh.”

He snorted. “Have to test the merchandise,” he said nodding. He winked at her and got a lewd gesture in response. “Okay, I’m listening. How do we pull this off without getting killed?”

“Well, first thing’s first,” Nyma said, unfolding herself and standing straight. “Have you decided to actually get your hands on the plant and bring it to the halfbreed or are you just going to stick to the letter of the deal and bring him the information?”

Rolo chewed the inside of his cheek in thought. “You know,” he said, “if I’m going to play games with the law, then why the frell not go the whole way? Not like I’d regret screwing over a smeg like Lotor.”

Nyma grinned. “Then leave it to me,” she said.

* * *

 

Allura took her place on the central platform, resting her hands on the control columns by her waist. “Ready, everyone?” she asked. A chorus of affirmatives answered her and she steeled herself. “Alright. Coran, coordinates locked?”

“Coordinates locked, princess,” her advisor said from his place as the very front of the bridge, hunched over a view screen depicting the Castleship’s engine power output. “Ready for wormhole on your mark.”

She nodded and lifted her gaze to the view screens covering the walls of the Castle’s bridge. The Balmeran sky was pretty but nowhere near as breathtaking as Altea’s had been. Pushing away her drifting thought, she tightened her grip on the control columns, feeling the smooth half spheres press comfortably against her palms.

“Then let’s get this over with,” she muttered.

The spheres under her palms lit up and the entire Castle shook with the power of the thrusters as the lifted off from the Balmera’s surface. She made sure to use the minimal amount of thrust for the initial liftoff to cause as little damage to the creature as possible. However, the moment they reached the middle atmosphere and began experiencing intense friction, she had no choice but to increase the thrust to break free of the Balmera’s gravitational hold and escape into space where she could safely open a wormhole.

Sweat was threatening to drip down her face along her hairline. It irked her that she was still so drained from the Balmeran energy exchange. It took more out of her than she’d originally thought. She would have to take it easy for a little while longer until her quintessence reserves finished returning to their natural state.

When they finally broke free of the Balmeran atmosphere, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes to center herself. Slowly, she reached out for the quintessence infused in the Castle and stored in the Balmeran power crystal. It responded readily to her summons, pooling in her body like a river. On the fringes of her senses, she could feel her brother sitting in his pilot chair behind and to her right. He would probably step in and give her some of his quintessence if he deemed it necessary. It wouldn’t be. She could do this.

She felt the Human paladins sitting in their pilot chairs to her left and Shiro in front of her. She focused on their quintessence: the swirling black of the sky, the sturdy yellow of the land, the knowledgeable green of the forest. They called out to their home planet, nestled in a solar system of eight planets and a single star on one of the outer bands of a spiral Galaxy they called the Milky Way. They wanted to go home, and she would take them there. The Black, Yellow, and Green Lions came alive in her mind, adding their quintessence, nearly identical to their chosen paladins’, to her. She would find their destination. She would find Earth.

The universe was vast, always expanding, always creating and destroying. Each galactic cluster held together in an immense network of dark energy. This was her territory, this place of knowns and even more unknowns. This was a tapestry of nature she could see, interpret, and understand. This was a map that would lead her directly to where she wished to go.

Earth. She wished to go to Earth. Quintessence that filled the expanse, carry her mind through the web of matter and energy, ride the tributaries of the Eternal River, and seek out that planet. The soft rivulets of quintessence flooded the universe, searching for Earth.

A star that held a system of eight planets, four rocky geoids closest to the star and four gaseous giants beyond separated by a ring of asteroids, ringed by a belt of planetoids, and encased by a cloud of comets and dust. Her mind rode the current of quintessence through the cloud of dust and comets, past a deep blue gas planet, then a light blue gas planet, then a planet surrounded by beautiful rings, and a gaseous giant that raged with violent storms and burned the color of dancing flames. Beyond. She had to move beyond.

Rocks zipped past her consciousness, as did a smaller rocky planet the color of rust. Then she approached a planet that sparkled with blue oceans and breathed life from its green and brown lands. White clouds swirled through the air as a shadow crept across the planet, heralding a sunset to those on the surface. A single rocky moon orbited the planet, as did a cloud of satellites ranging in size, design, and purpose.

This was it. This was Earth. She had Found it. It was beautiful.

Latching onto the image of a world of water and land and clouds, the third from its host star, she opened her eyes and in the Castleship and willed the space-time to fold. With the aid of the Castle’s infused quintessence, the fabric of space-time folded until their current location and the location of Earth were as close as they could be at her level of power and will. The path stabilized and a wormhole opened before them and they entered it.

Within the wormhole, she pulled them closer to their target. Quintessence rushed through her veins, tugging her and the Castle towards her Find. A split tick before they burst through the other side, Allura released her hold on her Find and allowed the Castle to fly out the other side of the wormhole.

Rings of dust, rock, and ice spread out before them like the rings of a tree. The planet looming large and beautiful on their right rippled with the colors of the rainbow, while auroras glowed brightly at the northernmost pole.

“Holy shit,” she heard Pidge mutter.

“We’re almost home,” Hunk’s voice said softly. “That’s Saturn.”

Slowly, Allura pulled her consciousness from the fringes of the Eternal River and back into her physical body. She’d Found Earth and gotten them here safely. She could rest now. It took her a minute to come back to herself fully, but when she did, she realized she was shaking. Lance was standing next to her, close enough to catch her if she fell, but far enough away to allow her to recover on her own if she wished. She did wish.

She gathered herself and stood straight. When had she bent over? She was still breathing slightly harder than usual, but she wasn’t as drained as she thought she would be, which was nice. However, Finding Earth had still put a strain on her quintessence levels, so she would have to rest soon. But at least they’d made it here safely.

“Shiro,” she said, turning to her black paladin. “this is your home planet. How would you like us to handle our arrival?”

Takashi Shirogane was standing at his seat staring out at Saturn with wide, awe filled eyes. It took him a tick to realize he’d been spoken to and form an answer. “Uh,” he began. “I think…” he trailed away as his eyes returned to the gas giant.

“Shiro?” she said gently, jolting the paladin out of his reverie.

The black paladin flushed and rubbed his neck awkwardly. “I think subtly would be best at the moment,” he said finally. “We don’t know the current state of affairs on Earth. Appearing out of nowhere probably wouldn’t be the best decision.”

“Yeah,” Hunk said, drawing out the word. “We have lots of movies and TV shows and books that have perfect examples of how that is typically _not_ a good idea.”

“We could take the Green Lion,” Pidge offered. “We can fly into the atmosphere cloaked and land somewhere remote and go from there.”

Hunk shot her a disdainful look. “You do realize we have lots of satellites and ground based telescopes and cameras and lots of other things that will notice the trail of fire behind us when the Green Lion enters the atmosphere, right? And another thing, can you really say there is a place on Earth that’s too remote to hide a giant robot Lion?”

Pidge wilted. “Well, when you put it like that…”

“What about the pod Coran and I flew to the Balmera?” Hunk said. “It can cloak, and it’s smaller, so the reentry trail won’t be as noticeable. We’ll probably have to come in over the ocean to avoid sending out a sonic boom over land. That would certainly raise some red flags.”

"That’s a good idea, Hunk,” Shiro said with an encouraging smile.

Allura noticed that Shiro’s smile was much lighter and wider than she ever remembered it being before. There was joy in the black paladin’s expression, joy and hope. It was a nice smile.

Movement in the corner of her eye made her turn her attention to her brother, who was still standing by her side. He was still a little shaky on his feet from his and Keith’s activities last cycle. He probably would be for a while.

Jealously gnawed at her making it difficult to meet Lance’s gaze. Instead, she looked to her advisor. “Coran,” he called. “Could you stay aboard the Castle while I join the paladins on Earth?”

“You need to sleep,” Lance said firmly, gripping her arm. “You’re not at your best.”

“I’m afraid I have to agree with the prince, Allura,” Coran said, earning him an infuriated glare.

“If I don’t go, then Lance doesn’t either,” Allura said petulantly. “He’s just as tired as I am. Not to mention I doubt his body could handle any further abuse,” she added, crossing her arms in frustration.

Her brother’s face turned a brilliant red that rivaled the Red Lion. How appropriate.

“I can handle it,” he snapped. “I’m fine.”

“You’re a bad liar,” Allura said.

Lance stiffened. “I have never lied to you,” he said coldly. “And I am sick and tired of being told that I lie.”

“Guys, that’s enough,” Shiro said, his sharp tone cutting Lance off before the disagreement could escalate any further. “Allura, I’m sure Lance can handle this. He’s proven himself more than capable. Lance, don’t belittle your sister.”

“I’m not belittling her,” Lance said. “She’s exhausted. She needs rest.”

“So do you,” Shiro said, facing the prince. “You both do. We all do. That probably won’t change for a while. It’s time we get used to it and adapt.” He looked between the prince and princess with his stern dark gray eyes. “We’re a team, but more than that we’re a family,” he said, this time taking in everyone on the bridge, including Coran. “We don’t need petty fights and disagreements to mess with that. We’ll never agree on everything, but if we focus on our disagreements and differences only, then we’ll fall apart faster than we can recover.”

“Now,” he said, “we’ll _all_ take a nap and get ready to go planetside. Meet at the pod launch bay to depart in 3 tocks, everyone.” He smiled. “We’re almost home, guys.”

Pidge and Hunk’s faces burst into bright, excited smiles. Hunk actually started tearing up.

“I want to see the beach,” Hunk said dreamily. “But I’ll settle for a good, home-cooked meal.”

“I want to see my Mom,” Pidge said, her eyes sparkling with determination. “I need her to know I’m alright and that I’m going to get Dad and Matt back.”

“I want coffee.”

The green and yellow paladins looked at Shiro in surprise, then Pidge grinned. “Okay, it’s decided,” she said. “Our first stop is going to be a café, where we can all get the biggest size coffee they serve with the most caffeine.” She smirked. “And I know just the place. Hope you don’t mind some good ole’ Southern college towns with one hell of a Halloween scene.”

Hunk sat bolt upright. “Halloween,” he said. “Halloween is in five days!”

Pidge jumped and cheered in excitement, then froze abruptly, a horrified expression on her face. “Oh shit,” she muttered. “Oh shit shit _shit SHIT!”_

“Um, Pidge?” Hunk said hesitantly.

“I just fucking started my goddamned period!” the green paladin shrieked.

Welcome to Earth.


	10. Herkimer Diamond: stimulates psychic abilities, aids sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Allura and Coran are ready to operate, Hunk and Pidge have gut problems, and Shiro has a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** This chapter fought me tooth and nail every step of the way. I'm happy with it, but geez. Talk about a tug-of-war. 
> 
> **Two quick things:** First, TMI means "too much information." It's slang. Second, what Shiro experiences at the end of this chapter is actually a real phenomenon called Sleep Paralysis. I've experienced it before in almost the same way as Shiro and believe me, it was terrifying.
> 
> I've given this a rough once-over but I'll edit it seriously tomorrow as usual. Night y'all~

“Wait,” Allura called.

Lance paused, turning back to his sister as he waited for her to catch up. He may still be mad at her, but she would always be his sister. When she reached his side, they continued down the hall together side by side.

“I wanted to talk to you before we went down to Earth,” Allura said. She slipped her hand in Lance’s and tugged him towards the lift. “Come with me.”

The prince lifted an eyebrow suspiciously. “Where are we going?” he asked. “I thought Space Dad sent us to bed.”

“Shiro highly suggested we rest and that’s exactly what we’ll do- after we talk,” Allura said. “Coran is going to meet us there.”

“Where?” Lance asked as they stepped into the lift. He noticed the level Allura selected and his confusion grew. “Where are we going?”

“Just trust me,” Allura said, bouncing on the balls of her feet as the lift moved downwards.

“I’m scared,” Lance said in a deadpan voice. Nevertheless, he allowed his sister to pull him along anyway.

That is, until he realized where they were going.

“No,” he said firmly, planting his feet firmly on the ground. “Allura, no. I am not going back into one of those.”

“Lance-”

“I won’t, Allura,” the prince said fiercely, digging his heels in. “You can’t make me.”

His sister stopped and took a deep, steadying breath before turning to face her brother.  “I know I can’t,” she said. “You don’t have to use them, but you might want to when Coran and I are done with you.”

Lance suddenly felt very uncomfortable, staring at the doorway to the healing pod chamber warily. “I’m not sure I like this,” he said.

The princess sighed. “Look, just come with me and hear our offer,” she said reasonably. “You don’t have to use a pod if you don’t want to, but it might help with the healing process.”

“Okay, now I’m seriously beginning to freak out,” Lance said, holding up his hands to keep Allura away. “What do you mean ‘heal?’ What the quiznak are you planning on doing to me?”

Allura gazed at her younger brother for a moment before her shoulders drooped and she bit her lip. “I guess this is as good a time as any,” she mumbled.

“Good a time for what?” Lance asked suspiciously, watching his sister dig something out of her pocket. “Allura wha…” His words left him when he saw what the princess held in her hand. “Is that-”

“A cybernetic eye,” Allura said, presenting the spherical device in her palm to her brother. “I traded some of my Kadesh for it from Nyma. Pidge, Hunk, and Coran added a few things and tweaked others, but…” She bit her lip nervously. “I wanted you to have it. It was my failings that caused you to lose your eye in the first place,” she said. “You shouldn’t have to get hurt for me.”

Without waiting for her to continue, Lance pulled his sister into an embrace. He’d known this was coming but he hadn’t known when or how Allura planned to give him the eye.  Doing it now, before they went down to Earth and after their fight, meant a lot to him. It reinforced the fact that no matter what they said or did, no matter how many fights they had, they would always be siblings who cared for one another.

“You realize I’m still mad at you,” Lance warned.

“I’m well aware,” Allura said.

When they finally parted, the princess walked into the healing chamber, knowing Lance would follow. The healing chamber didn’t appear any different than usual except for a single table that slid out of the wall underneath one of the several work stations. The work stations were rarely used except for when surgery was required.

The healing pods were efficient, but they had their limitations. They couldn’t set bones or bind cybernetics to a living body, but a living, breathing surgeon could. Quintessence would often be incorporated into the process to ease the shock the body undergoing the surgery experienced. This also tended to lower the chance of the body rejecting the implants and prepared the body for the intense healing and recovery in or out of the pods after the surgery.

“Have you told him?” Coran asked, setting a jar of gel and a folded towel on the table.

Allura nodded. “He’s ready.”

She held out her hand and escorted Lance to the table. The prince approached with hesitant steps and determination in his eye. He climbed up onto the table and sat there with his legs dangling over the edge. He said nothing aloud, but his face screamed of trust hemmed with nervousness.

The advisor nodded. “I’ve already programmed one of the pods for healing mode,” he said, easing Lance back so he lay flat on the table. “This will be cold, but it’ll numb the area so it doesn’t hurt when I begin inserting the eye.”

He picked up the jar, opening it and dipping his finger in the gel. “Stay still,” he commanded and began applying the cool gel to the right side of Lance’s face.

The prince sighed when the coolness actually felt good against his skin. He hummed, closed his lone eye, and lay still so the advisor could finish applying the gel. The only time he flinched was when Coran’s fingers brushed his damaged eye scale, hissing a breath. He heard Coran apologize and move on to Lance’s cheek. When Coran was finished, he placed a hand on Lance’s chest causing the prince to open his eye and look up at him.

“I need you to stay as still as you can,” Coran said. “Can you do that for me?” Lance nodded minutely and the advisor took the cybernetic eye from Allura’s hand. “Alright,” Coran sighed. “Here we go.”

* * *

 

Hunk looked up from the tablet he borrowed from Coran’s room -the guy wouldn’t notice it was gone- when someone knocked on his door. “Come in,” he called. “Oh, hey Pidge.” He sat up on his bunk and folded his legs so he sat cross-legged. “Come join me.”

The green paladin groaned and hobbled over to her friend’s bed, sitting carefully on the edge of the mattress. Rover flew over her shoulder so it hovered between the two friends.

 “You couldn’t sleep either?” she asked.

“Are you kidding?” Hunk said, a huge smile on his face. “I’m too excited to sleep. We’re almost home, Pidge. Can you believe it? We’re in our solar system. Saturn’s right there!” he said, pointing at the gas giant hanging in space outside the view screen. “Earth is so freakin’ close, I can practically taste it.”

“Ew, man,” Pidge teased. “You eat planets now? What are you? Galactus or something?”

“I resent that statement,” Hunk said, holding up a finger. “Obviously, I’m Ant-Man.”

Pidge snorted, then stiffened. “Damn it,” she muttered, clutching her gut.

Hunk sighed in sympathy. “Cramps?” he asked. Pidge nodded and the yellow paladin grimaced. “Sorry, man. I don’t have anything for you to take. Did Allura get you anything for the bleeding?”

“Yeah,” Pidge said, nodding. “She got me some fabric things she called bleeding cloths back when I first brought it up. It feels kind of like a pad, but not.” She groaned and hunched over. “I feel like my uterus is trying to turn itself inside out while I’m wetting my pants.”

“Woah!” Hunk said, waving his hands frantically. “TMI! TMI! I did _not_ need to hear all of that. I promise, I did not need to hear that.”

Pidge snickered then winced. “Man, I hate this,” she mumbled. “It’s always the worst the first couple days.”

“Is that it?” the yellow paladin asked, cautiously interested. “I mean, the few times you got sick while we were still in the Garrison, you would just guzzle Tylenol or ibuprofen or something and power through it. Was that-”

“When I was having my period, yeah,” Pidge answered curtly. “I hurts like the fuckin’ dickens.”

Hunk blinked. “I have no idea what that word means,” he said.

“Okay, it fuckin’ hurts like hell, goddamnit.”

“Oh, okay, I got that,” the yellow paladin said happily. “So,” he said, leaning forward in excitement, “you ready to go home?”

Pidge shrugged, her shoulders still slumped wearily. “Dad and Matt are still out there, Hunk,” she said. “I can’t leave them there. Who knows if they’re still with the Galra or if they escaped or if they’re dea-”

“Okay, stop!” Hunk said. Pidge looked up to see a determined expression on her best friend’s face. “Look man, your family is still alive. I guarantee it.”

“You can’t guaran-”

“I can too, Pidge,” Hunk said. “I’ve got awesome magic powers like that.”

The green paladin snorted. “Like hell you do.”

“I do,” Hunk said. “I’ve been praying for your family,” he said in a softer voice, a faint hint of color creeping into his cheeks. “I mean, I haven’t been able to go through the proper rituals or anything, but it’s the thought that counts, right?”

Pidge stared at her friend in shock. “You’ve been praying for them?” she repeated incredulously.

Hunk shrugged self-consciously. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “I can’t really do much other than that at the moment, so…”

“Thanks,” Pidge said with a soft smile, placing her hand on top of Hunk’s. “That means a lot. Really.”

The two friends sat in the silence for several minutes. Pidge eventually leaned against Hunk’s shoulder and watched him tap away at the touchscreen tablet in his hands. The characters on the screen were still all in Altean, but Hunk seemed to be figuring out how to navigate the system fairly well. It almost looked like he was programming something.

“What’re you doing?” Pidge asked curiously.

“Huh? Oh, nothing really. Just…” He trailed off as he focused his full attention on the tablet screen.

“Just what?” the green paladin asked after a moment of silence.

“Well, it’s weird,” Hunk said. “Something feels…I don’t know, off about this whole thing.”

“What whole thing?” Pidge pressed, sitting up. “This whole going back to Earth thing or-”

“Yeah, that.” Hunk set the tablet on the mattress next to him and sighed. “Look, I want to go home almost as bad as you and Shiro do, but I just…” He shook his head and tugged thoughtfully at the strip of fabric tied around his head like a headband. “I get this bad feeling whenever I think about leaving the Castle.”

“Well, I guess the Castle has kind of become our second home,” Pidge said. “I’ll miss the old thing too when we go to Earth. But we are coming back, you know.”

“No, no, that’s just it,” Hunk said emphatically. “I think that if we leave the Castle with just one or two of us behind, something bad will happen.”

Pidge sat back and stared hard at her friend. “Your gut’s telling you that?” she demanded.

“Yes,” Hunk said, fighting back a blush. “I know it sounds strange, but-”

“Have you told Shiro?” Pidge said, cutting off the yellow paladin’s defense.

“-I just- what?” he gasped. “You believe me?”

Pidge gave him a look that spoke volumes. “Hunk,” she said, “the last few times you got one of your infamous gut feelings, something bad _did_ happen. Not to mention, you never once got lost when we were wandering around in the Balmera.” She shrugged. “I trust that gut of yours. Even if it is a little jelly belly,” she said with a teasing smirk.

“Hey,” Hunk said in mock annoyance. “My gut is a good little gut. Don’t insult the gut. It digests food like a wonder. Speaking of,” he said, standing suddenly. “Mid-nap snack?”

Pidge laughed heartily. “I could do with some munchies right now,” she said. “I’m definitely adding chocolate to my list of Earth needs.”

“Oh Pele, chocolate,” Hunk drawled.

A thick drop of drool leaked from the side of his mouth as he and his friend walked out of his room and towards the mess hall. Neither of them noticed the inhuman eyes watching them from the other side of the hallway.

* * *

 

Shiro lie in his bed, wide awake and unable to get comfortable. He swore he was being watched, but no matter how often he looked or how hard he looked, he could never find anything suspicious. It almost felt like he was back in the Galra prison waiting for his turn to fight in the arena.

He could practically smell the place. The refuse, the dirt, and the mold, mixed with the heavy, metallic scent of blood, making his nostrils flare. He knew this smell. It sang to him, beckoning to him, luring him back to the world he left behind. He felt strong in the arena, arguably the strongest he’d ever felt before in his life. But he was also the weakest when he held his weapon down on his enemy, listening for the telling death rattle that signified yet another victory.

The roar of the throngs of people in the stands, Galra and otherwise, praised him. They loved him. They couldn’t get enough of him. He was new. He was special. He was something unique and dangerous that they’d never seen before. They wanted more of it.

Shiro had to give them more. He had to. If he didn’t, then they would kill him. Or worse, they would kill Matt and Mr. Holt. They were scientists. They weren’t trained to fight. Matt, at least, had some basic training under his belt from his short stint at the Galaxy Garrison before joining the science division. But compared to Shiro, Matt was pathetically lacking.

Shiro was the Holts’ last line of defense. If he fell, the Holts would die. If Shiro escaped, then the Holts would either be killed immediately or be thrown back into the arena where they would die soon after. How would Shiro ever face Mrs. Holt with what he’d done, what he _was_ doing?

Why was he doing this? Why was he fighting the Galra? He knew deep in his heart of hearts that there was no way he could defeat the Galra Empire. He was fairly certain he was no match for Emperor Zarkon, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to test his luck against this Prince Lotor person. This was a useless battle that would do nothing except get thousands, if not millions, of innocent people murdered.

So why fight the Galra Empire? Why not join them? Shiro was the best of the best. He was the Champion of the Galra gladiator arenas. If he joined the Galra then he would have a place waiting for him. He could easily rise through the ranks to a subcommander at the very least. He may not be Galra by birth, but he was certainly Galra by nature.

…what?

… _what?_

What was this?

He wasn’t a Galra. He would never be a Galra. The Galra were despicable creatures. They’d kidnapped him and his team on a peaceful scientific mission to Kerberos. They were going to throw their entire group to the wolves of the arena. They would have died too if Shiro hadn’t stepped in when he did.

He was a pilot trained by the Galaxy Garrison and sworn to protect everyone under his care with his life. Everyone in Team Voltron fell under that category. But they were more than that now, weren’t they? Slowly Hunk, Pidge, Lance, Allura, Coran, and even Keith after their rough start had wormed their way into his heart.

He had lost his parents to the ill-fated Cronus 3 mission, but he’d gained a new family in the form of Team Voltron. He couldn’t let them down. He wouldn’t let them down. He was stronger than that. He wouldn’t fail. He wouldn’t-

FAIL!

His eyes flew open, gasping in shock. He'd been asleep? His breath was coming in short puffs because his chest felt heavy as if something was sitting on it, pressing it down. He tried to sit up and was horrified to discover he couldn’t move. He grit his teeth and tensed his muscles in an attempt to force himself to sit up. Again nothing.

Adrenaline fueled by panic zipped through his body and slowly, inch by hard-fought inch, he began to regain the use of his limbs. He wasn’t sure how long he struggled against whatever invisible force was holding his body prisoner, but it had to be a minute or two at least.

When he finally managed to sit up, he leaned heavily on his bent legs. It was so hard to hold himself up. What was this? What was going on? He was so tired and everything was so heavy. He’d never felt this before and it terrified him.

He forced his eyes to stay wide open, staring blankly at the wall at the end of his bunk, and began reciting anything he could think of. His name and birthday, his identification number, his favorite movie quote, his favorite song lyrics, anything. He stumbled over the words, but that didn’t matter. As long as he was talking and focusing on something other than his captive body, the invisible chains weighing him down began to loosen.

It took a while, but his eyelids began to weigh one hundred pounds. It was ridiculous, but that’s certainly what he felt like. Already his body was slumping over without his permission. So tired. He could barely stay awake. He had to stay awake.

Maybe a quick nap wouldn’t hurt. He wouldn’t even sleep. He would just rest his head back down on his pillow and rest his eyes for a minute. Nothing serious. He wouldn’t let himself fall back asleep. He was just resting his eyes.

He fell asleep.


	11. Turquoise: friendship, mental relaxation, guards against the evil eye and danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shiro blushes, fights, and encourages while Lotor takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I have a splitting headache but that's ok because this chapter is done and I can go to be BEFORE MIDNIGHT! *le gasp*
> 
>  **Side note:** The content at the end of this chapter may disturb some readers. Just fyi.

When Shiro finally woke up from his very unrestful nap, he was still on edge from that nightmare. Had it really been a nightmare, though? It had seemed so real. Then again, that bout of sleep paralysis had followed almost immediately afterwards, so he shouldn’t think too much on it.

Still, in his dream he’d weighed the pros and cons of giving up on Team Voltron and switching sides. That in and of itself shook him to his core. The very idea of such a thing went against everything Shiro believed in, everything he stood for. Just the memory of what he’d considered disgusted him.

Rubbing his face, he forced himself to get up and crawl out of bed. His limbs seemed reluctant to move and his muscles ached. He felt more tired now than he had before he’d lain down in the first place. He wasn’t sure how long he’d slept but he doubted it was long, all things considered. If he’d overslept, then he was certain Allura would have woken him up with the ship wide alarm. She had a rather nasty habit of doing that although, more often then not, it was Lance who was the one to suffer. The prince definitely wasn’t a morning glory.

Shiro pulled his shirt back on with a sigh. He was certainly looking forward to getting another change of clothes. Lord knew they all needed at least one new set, the Alteans included. An image of the princess wearing Earth clothes flashed in his mind unbidden and his cheeks heated beyond what he thought he was capable of.

It took a full minute for him to force the blush back and go back to getting ready to head out. He picked the most Earth-like outfit he had: a pair of utilitarian black pants, black boots, a dark gray, long-sleeved mesh shirt, and a white hemmed black vest that zipped in the front. The long sleeves hid most of his mechanical right arm from sight. Only the deceptively monotone metallic hand was visible, gleaming dully in the light of his room.

He glared at the appendage with seething hate. He could still remember the now familiar thrum of energy, just begging to be unleashed on whatever target he chose. He had become a living weapon with no purpose except to kill. Team Voltron had given him a purpose other than killing. He felt like he could live with himself now.

Coming back home not in a state of terror from running from Galra captivity was a change that he looked forward to. Of course, he was looking forward to coffee. That black gold would do wonders for his sanity and state of mind. Not to mention the caffeine…

He smiled. He wasn’t entirely back to his good mood, but he felt better and that’s all that mattered. Shiro adjusted his vest, zipping it up to the collar, and strode out of his bedroom. He’d make a quick pit stop at the mess hall for a snack before heading to the pod hangar. He doubted anyone would mind.

* * *

 

What…

This…

How…

“Um.”

“Shiro!” Hunk shouted form his hiding place behind the island in the middle of the kitchen where the Altean version of a dishwasher was. Rover hovered near the floor, flashing and spinning in obvious distress. “Shiro, make it stop!”

The black paladin could just blink, unable to fully comprehend what he was seeing. Green food goo was spewing through the air like bullets of glop from the food hose attached to the wall. This was not what Shiro ever thought he’d see. It was... amusing? Weird? Scary?

“Um,” he said intelligently, still unable to do much except blink in shock.

“We’ll have to go on the offensive,” Pidge said, pulling out two plates from the dishwasher. She handed one to Hunk and kept the other one for herself. “On the count of three, we take that thing down.”

“Go!” Hunk shouted, ignoring the promised countdown and charging out from behind the island.

Food goo splattered all over the place, but the yellow paladin was great at utilizing the plate in his hands as a makeshift shield. When he wasn’t eating the globs of food goo that flew close to his mouth. Those globs suffered the worst fate, being eaten by Hunk.

Pidge was right there next to her friend with her plate at the ready. She leapt at the food goo hose, landing on the nozzle with her plate between her and the metal. She was strong, but she was also a lightweight. The force with which the hose was spewing food goo was reminiscent of a garden hose with the water pressure set at full. It flailed all over the place, bouncing the green paladin’s body up and down as she struggled to keep it in check.

That was Shiro’s cue. He booked it into the kitchen and helped Pidge hold the nozzle down. The hose still whipped around and food goo still flew out of the nozzle. That is, until Hunk managed to grab the waving hose and tie it in a knot. The three paladins heaved a sigh of relief when the green goop stopped flying around.

But their relief quickly vanished when Rover began beeping and flashing frantically trying to get their attention. They look up and saw the hose on the backside of Hunk’s knot began to expand threateningly. The green glop began oozing out from behind the panel where the food hose connected to the wall. Petrified, the paladins bolted away from the hose until they stood in the doorway, hopefully out of reach of the approaching food goo explosion.

Shiro glanced at Pidge and Hunk standing next to him. Their faces were just as dumbstruck as his. Even Rover’s unchanging camera eye looked distressed. “Leave it for Coran?” he suggested hesitantly.

They nodded.

Without another word, they turned and walked away from the kitchen as casually as they could. Rover even beeping a pointless tune, innocently as you please.

They were still a bit jumpy when they finally arrived at the pod hangar. Strangely enough, they were the first ones there. How had that happened? Keith and the Alteans were always punctual. Or Allura and Coran were at least. If it was morning, Lance was typically the last one to arrive.

“So,” Pidge said, drawing out the word, “where is everybody?”

“No clue,” Hunk said.

Shiro walked up to the pod they were going to ride in and leaned against the metal body. “We’ll give them a few minutes before trying to call them,” he said. “They probably got distracted by something.”

“Knowing Coran, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Hunk said with a shrug.

“Paladins!”

The three friends looked back at the hangar door where Allura entered, a wide smile on her face.

“I hope you’re all feeling better after your naps,” she said, clapping her hands together.

The paladins glanced at each other awkwardly before choosing not to answer that one. Thankfully, the princess didn’t seem to notice.

“I have a surprise for you,” Allura said, practically giddy with joy.

That got the group’s attention.

“Non-killer food?” Hunk asked.

“Money for tampons?” Pidge asked.

Rover beeped.

“Gloves?” Shiro asked.

“Killer food?” Allura repeated, blinking in confusion.

Pidge blinked and looked at Shiro strangely. “Why do you want gloves?” she asked. Shiro flushed and Pidge’s expression fell. She didn’t press any further.

“Holy crap guys,” Hunk said, horror growing on his face. “Pidge is right. We have no money. We don’t even have our IDs. How are we going to pay for our coffee?”

Pidge shifted and stuffed her hands in her pockets, avoiding everyone’s gaze. “We could borrow it,” she muttered.

The yellow paladin stared at his friend, betrayed. “Pidge! That is not okay.”

She shrugged. “Hey, it how else do you think I got my hands on those tampons at the Garrison without going shopping?” she said. “They went through out groceries to make sure no one snuck in any alcohol or smokes, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” Hunk said, rubbing his chin. “I can see how that could be a problem.”

“I would rather you not steal anything, Pidge,” Allura said. “But that’s not the surprise!” she said, regaining her enthusiasm. “Lance!” she called, looking back over her shoulder. “Lance, come here!”

Hesitantly, the Altean prince slipped into the hangar, blinking and looking around cautiously. It was almost like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Seeing.

Shiro gasped, pushing away from the pod. “Your eye!” he cried.

Pidge and Hunk stiffened. Then Hunk burst into a smile, opened his arms out wide, and ran at the prince. Lance just had a split second to brace for impact before he was caught up in a bone crushing hug that had him coughing and kicking his legs uselessly in the air when they lifted off the ground. Rover darted over to the prince, beeping and flashing and flying around the Altean with surprising energy.

The prince blushed and flinched away from the hoverbot’s excited close-ups, ducking his head awkwardly. He ran a hand through his hair, scratching it nervously. He blinked a little more often then he used to, probably still trying to adapt to the odd sensation of having an eyeball again.

Shiro smiled and approached Lance more sedately. He placed a hand on the prince’s shoulder, shaking him gently to get his attention. “Hey,” he said, waiting for Lance to look up at him. “I’m glad you’re okay. Do you like it?”

Lance thought for a moment, looking back over his shoulder to where Keith and Coran stood in the doorway watching. Coran was smiling proudly and Keith’s lips were twitching up at the corners. The red paladin’s purple ears flicked up to catch the conversation.

“It’s…” Lance began, taking his time with finding an answer. “Strange,” he said. “It aches where the cybernetics connect to my brain-”

“Ew,” Hunk said, his face turning green.

“-but I missed seeing with both eyes,” Lance finished, chuckling at the yellow paladin’s predictable reaction. “I’ll have to take it easy for a few days to get used to this.” He waved his hand vaguely. “The cornea is a view screen, I think. Stuff sometimes pops up in front of my vision when I think about certain things. That’ll take some getting used to.”

Pidge grinned. “I helped with some of that,” she declared, pushing out her chest proudly. “I knew you were a sharpshooter, so I added a basic targeting program to help with that. It already zooms-”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that,” Lance said, nodding and slowly shaking his head. “That part is weird.”

“So I just attached the targeting program to the zoom,” Pidge finished. “Hunk helped me fit the program into the eyeball itself and Rover watched.”

The hoverbot beeped and spun proudly at the recognition making Lance laugh. However, when Keith stepped up behind the prince and looped his arms around Lance’s shoulders, the hoverbot backed off, darting behind Pidge shyly.

“I don’t think Rover likes your PDA,” Hunk said wryly.

Coran laughed heartily. “Alright, everyone,” he said. “I’ve got everything handled here. Off to Earth with you. Shoo, shoo.”

“Are you sure you’re alright staying behind, Coran?” Allura asked in concern as the paladins began crowding into the pod. It would be a tight fit, but they could do it.

The advisor smiled softly and pulled the princess into a hug. “I’ll be fine, princess,” he said. “You all have fun. This is your specialty, right? Get what you need, restock on some supplies, and let the paladins’ families know they’re alright.”

Allura smiled and hugged Coran tighter. “I will,” she said. Then she pulled back and hurried to join her team in the crowded pod. “We’ll be back soon,” she called, waving to her advisor.

“Oh, before we go,” Hunk said. “I promise it wasn’t deliberate, and we’re sorry.”

Shiro flushed and quickly closed the pod’s door before Coran could ask for clarification on Hunk’s cryptic goodbye message. Keith shot the yellow paladin a curious look before settling back in the co-pilot’s seat. Shiro took the captain’s seat and grabbed the controls. A moment later, they made liftoff, and when they were at a safe distance, he opened the slipstream and their little puddlejumper was finally on their way to home.

* * *

 

Prince Lotor gazed out the window at the settlement of Meserie from his quarters in on of the most opulent of the towers. He’d been hearing chatter from his informants of rebel spies hiding out here. While the rebellion was no longer his primary target, that didn’t mean how wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to investigate. Besides, Meserie was on the way to his final destination and he wanted to restock on some of his supplies.

A clatter from behind broke through his thoughts and dragged an annoyed growl from his throat. He glanced back in his room and sneered in disgust. One of his male toys was lying sprawled on the floor coughing and shaking. Lotor had planned to leave him with one of the other traders here, but apparently the prince’s patience was shorter than he’d originally thought. Oh well. He’d outlived his usefulness anyway.

He set his drink on the table on the balcony and walked back into the darkness of the room. The male on the floor didn’t flinch or fight him, still lost in the drugged haze of the juniberry plant. Lotor hauled the man up by his elbow and dragged him out to the balcony. The wind from the canyon whipped Lotor’s hair as he stepped up to the railing.

It was nice out tonight. The particle barrier was darkening, blocking out the reddish glow from the eternal sunset above in a simulated nightfall. He picked up his cup and took another sip of the fermented berry juice and hummed. Tilting his head back to finish the drought, he released his hold and the male toy plummeted to his death. Whether he died from the shock of the fall or whenever he struck the ground far below, Lotor didn’t know. Nor did he care. The toy hadn't screamed, so the calm, relaxing atmosphere remained undisturbed. That was all Lotor cared about.

Lotor leaned against the railing and fiddled with his empty cup. Meserie was a fascinating place. So many races passing through, thinking of nothing but their own business. Here, legal and illegal business deals were the norm. It was a cesspool of good and evil that fed his darkest desires.

Well, he thought, glancing back into his rooms. Not the darkest of his desires. That honor was reserved for another. Drawn by some emotion he still couldn’t put his finger on, Prince Lotor went back inside, closing the glass door to the balcony behind him. He didn’t bother turning on the lights. He could see perfectly fine in the darkness thanks to his Galran night vision.

He made his way through the common room to his bedroom, dropping the cup unceremoniously on the floor behind him. The employees of this establishment would clean up the mess the next day. Instead, he strolled up to his bed and picked up the tablet laying there. A tap on the power button and the screen came to life.

He hissed and immediately turned the brightness down so the light didn’t blind him. Satisfied, he sat on his bed and leaned back against the decorative pillows he didn’t bother to remove. He wouldn’t be sleeping much tonight anyway. There were too many clubs to attend for sleep to be a priority.

But first…

Lotor pulled up the recording his father had given him so he could identify the Empire’s single most wanted person. The prince had never known his father to have such a single-minded obsession for someone before. From what Lotor understood, this person had a connection to the Voltron Lions.

Zarkon had commanded Lotor to retrieve this person by any means necessary. However, the prince was forbidden to harm or kill the boy in any way. Even if Lotor had known nothing else about the situation, that command alone would have caught his attention. He watched the video play, pausing it when the person of interest spit at the screen.

Lotor had never laid eyes on anyone remotely like this person. The boy’s skin was dark, only a shade or so lighter than his hair. His eyes were a sharp blue that burned with defiance. Pale, turquoise scales gleamed at the corners of his eyes. So this was what a pure-blooded Altean looked like.

Lotor rewound the video, studying the way the prisoner’s expression morphed from defiant to terrified and paused it. He enlarged the image so the prisoner’s body filled the tablet’s screen. He ran his light purple fingers over the prisoner’s despairing face, tracing the trail of the single tear down a cheek.

So beautiful.

He reached down and pulled himself out of his pants and squeezed. What he would give to see that expression beneath him, because of him. To be the cause of that fearful expression, those tear filled eyes... He pumped his penis slowly.

It wasn’t enough.

He dropped the tablet on the bed and got up, striding purposefully into the spare bedroom where he kept his other three toys. He didn’t pay attention to which one he grabbed. It didn’t really matter in the long run. He didn’t want to see their face, he want their body. He wanted to feel the heat and pressure surrounding him.

He tossed the toy onto his bed and mounted them. It was one of the genderless ones, he noticed absently. Not important. They still had a hole he could use and that’s all he cared about. He held the toy’s hips up and thrust inside without preparation. The toy gave a cry of pain but otherwise remained docile in their drugged mind.

Lotor pressed the toy’s torso into the mattress and propped the tablet on the decorative pillows so he could see his target’s fearful face. He growled and moved his hips in a hard and fast pace. The toy grunted and whimpered but didn’t resist. He grit his teeth and snarled.

He wouldn’t drug his target when he finally got his hands on him. He much preferred his new toys awake and aware when he broke them. Emperor Zarkon had commanded Lotor to bring the target to him alive and unharmed, but Lotor doubted his father would mind if the boy was broken when he arrived.

That was his darkest desire.


	12. Copper: helps stimuate initiative and optimisim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the locals regale the tourists with tales of the mysterious norms and Shiro needs coffee. Now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Because we all need some fluff before the darkness comes. Sorry I missed the update on Monday night. I was literally so tired I was falling asleep while writing. I guess the consecutive nights with ~4 hours of sleep and 9-5 workdays is getting to me. ^^; Oops.

When they burst out of the slipstream, Shiro clocked the pod and took full manual control. Keith acted as his co-pilot and alerted him to anything that could potentially get in their flight path like satellites of, heaven forbid, the New International Space Station. The NISS was much larger and more advanced than its predecessor and orbited the Earth at a slightly higher altitude, due to its size and weight. It should be easy to spot, but Shiro had been out of the loop too long to know its exact location.

The flight he chose took them over the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and South America. He may be a little out of practice, but he still remembered that odd little patch of sky that muddled up electronics called the SAA. If he could angle their trajectory so they flew through that space, then hopefully their entry into the Earth’s atmosphere wouldn’t be too noticeable.

Then again, it was just now evening in this hemisphere. It had been Hunk’s idea for them to fly down from the west in the late evening or early night. The sun would be at their back which would further help hide their friction-induced heat trail. If anyone saw them at night, they could cross their fingers and hope the people on the ground thought they were just a meteor out of season. It was worth a shot.

He had Pidge monitor every radio frequency he could remember to make sure no one remarked on their arrival. The last thing they needed was another incident like his previous crash landing on Garrison property that began this whole adventure.

As if on cue, the radios went on the fritz, stuttering and coughing as they entered the SAA. Shiro grinned when the lights in the pod flickered and some even went out. Keith, however, gave a cry and began frantically trying to regain the lost electronics.

“It’s okay, Keith,” Shiro said. “That’s supposed to happen.”

“I may not be familiar with Altean pod technology, but I’m pretty sure the main thrusters and communications suddenly stopping isn’t okay,” the halfbreed snapped, still worrying at the temporarily dead controls.

“What’s going on?” Allura said, leaning forward to study the now mostly dark dashboard.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” Shiro said. “This area of space is known for this sort of thing. We’ll be back at full capacity as soon as we clear it.”

“SAA?” Hunk asked curiously.

“Yep,” Shiro said, nodding.

“Nice.” The yellow paladin gave a thumbs up to the three aliens in the pod. “We’re good, guys,” he said. “It’s all part of the plan.”

“But what- Quiznak! It’s back,” Keith said in surprise when the systems came back online. He quickly began running diagnostics on the equipment.

“You won’t find anything,” Pidge said absently, returning her attention to the communication frequencies. “That was normal.”

“Normal?” Lance asked in confusion.

“Yeah. It’s the SAA, or South American Anomaly,” Hunk said. “It’s this area of space where electronics and stuff just goof up. We still don’t know what causes it, just that it’s always in that place.” He grinned and chuckled. “It’s sometimes called the Bermuda Triangle of Space.”

“I doubt they know what the Bermuda Triangle is, Hunk,” Shiro said with a fond smile.

“Oh yeah. It’s this roughly triangular area of ocean where weird stuff happens,” Hunk said excitedly. “Planes and ships go missing without a trace, strange magnetic problems, electronics going crazy.” He spazzed in excitement. “And the best part is we still haven’t been able to figure out what’s causing it!”

Keith looked disturbed. “Why does that make you excited?” he asked in mild horror. “That doesn’t sound like something I’d want to leave unknown.”

“But that’s what makes it so exciting!” Hunk said, grabbing the red paladin by the shoulder. “It’s something we don’t understand, which means we can study it and learn. It’s science! Science is awesome. Besides,” he added with a grin, “the SAA isn’t the only place on Earth where weird stuff happens.”

“The number of places that have strange phenomena happen... there are way too many to count,” Pidge said, her eyes still pinned to the communicator. “We’ve got the SAA, the Bermuda Triangle, the Dragon’s Triangle in the Pacific- and those are just the famous ones.”

“Yeah,” Hunk said excitedly. “Then there are those places that have this hum that can drive people insane, the lesser known Michigan Triangle-”

“So many triangles,” Allura muttered in mild confusion.

“Well,” Shiro spoke up, “they get their names because the places where the phenomena occur tend to be roughly triangular. But not all of them are. There’s this one place in Nevada called the Fly Geyser that literally looks like it was some computer generated graphic from a video game.”

“You’ve seen it?” Pidge asked curiously, not looking up from the comm unit.

The black paladin shrugged. “Flown over it, yeah,” he said. “But I haven't seen it from the ground. Just pictures.”

“Your planet sounds…fascinating,” Allura said, her brow furrowed uncertainly.

“That’s one word for it,” Lance mumbled.

Keith just shook his head, still unable to wrap his mind around the fact that all these unknowns were talked about so casually. It sounded like these Humans actually thought those things were interesting. Humans were a strange species.

“We’re coming up on the Bahamas,” Shiro said.

This time, Pidge did look up. “Already?” she asked. “How fast are we going? This’s got to be faster than commercial airlines.”

“It is,” Shiro said. “We’re definitely going Mach something, but I’m not sure which Mach it is.”

“But _fast_ ,” Pidge said.

“Yeah,” Shiro said, gripping the controls and grinning. “I feel like a fighter pilot again.”

“Shiro?” Hunk said, placing a hand on the black paladin’s shoulder. “I love you man, but please don’t do anything crazy. I may be a bit better at flying, but if you try anything I’m not guaranteeing anything.”

Shiro paled and immediately focused on keeping the flight as smooth as he could. About an hour later, he glanced quickly over his shoulder to the green paladin and said, “Alright, Pidge. This is your home field.” He nodded to the coordinate map on the side view screen. “Where do you suggest we go?”

Pidge handed the communicator to the prince, unbuckled her seatbelt, and climbed up to the front of the pod so she could look at the view screens over Shiro’s shoulder. She hummed. “Okay,” she said slowly. “We’re going to need a computer, an Internet connection, coffee by the barrel load, and lots of people dressed up for Halloween.”

“But Halloween isn’t for another few days,” Hunk said.

Pidge looked back at the yellow paladin and smirked. “But if I’ve done my math right, tonight is a Friday,” she said.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Hunk asked.

Pidge snickered. “My family lives in the Atlanta area. It’s close enough to the airport so we can travel in a hurry, close enough to Cape Canaveral in case NASA contacted my dad or Shiro, but far enough away to avoid most of the craziness of the big cities. Besides, my mom’s a Southerner born and bred, so you know what that means?”

Hunk blinked. “Sweet tea?” he asked innocently.

Pidge lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “Yeah, that too,” she admitted. “But what I meant was-”

“Football,” she and Shiro said at the same time, grinning at each other.

“Okay,” Hunk said, still confused. “How does knowing that help us exactly?”

“Where do you go if you want lots of coffee, a free computer, lots of transient people who throw parties and are typically obnoxious and don’t question strange things?” Pidge asked. “You know, like people with huge, fluffy ears-”

“Hey!”

“-and elf ears?” Pidge finished.

Hunk’s eyes widened and a huge smile stretched across his face. “College towns,” he said. “Pidge, you’re a genius.”

“I know,” the green paladin chirped proudly. “And since it’s the Friday night before Halloween, I can guarantee there will be a lot of people running around in ridiculous costumes and no one will question us,” she continued. “Not to mention there’s this huge parade tomorrow. The entirety of downtown will shut down to car traffic. Everyone will be wandering around in full costume, drunk off their asses, with trapeze artists and your token curbside fire-and-brimstone pastors screaming at us through megaphones.”

Both Shiro and Hunk winced at the last statement. “At least we’ll blend in,” Hunk said.

Shiro nodded. “We’ll find a place to land and hide the pod, and then we'll start looking into contacting your families,” he said.

“Actually,” Hunk said suddenly, “we may not have to hide the pod. Pidge said there should be a lot of people there all dressed up for Halloween. Will there be weird cars and hoverbikes too?” Pidge blinked, then burst into a smile. “Yeah, there will be,” she said in excitement. “We could park this thing in plain sight and I doubt many people will question us. Although, we might have to pay for parking.”

“Which leads us back to the money problem,” Hunk said.

“Do either of you have checking accounts?” Shiro asked. “If not, I do.”

“If they haven’t frozen your account yet,” Pidge muttered.

Shiro slumped. “I hope they haven’t,” he said. “I really need a coffee.”

“Humans are so weird,” Keith said.

* * *

 

In the end, they didn’t arrive for another hour or so. Shiro ended up flying the cloaked pod into a parking deck that towered over the old, historic builds of downtown. He only uncloaked the pod when he’d pulled into a parking spot between an SUV and a hoverbike on the second highest level of the deck.

“Wait here,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt and climbing out of the captain’s seat to the side door.

It was a bit of a squish, seeing as the pods really weren’t designed for more than two pilots and some cargo. They’d managed to fit all six of them in the pod, but it was a bit tight and there was little to no leg room. Thank God Shiro had long legs. He stepped over Allura’s head, blushing as he did so, and reached for the latch to slide the door open.

The top half of the door lifted while the lower half dropped to the ground at the same pace as the upper half. Shiro heaved a sigh of relief when the neither part of the door bumped the hoverbike parked next to them. The parking deck was lit but mostly quiet with the exception of the occasional rumble as a car drove through the many levels.

“It’s clear,” he said, looking back inside. “We should be fine.”

Hunk got out first, considering he was the largest of the group and took up the bulk of the space. The princess stepped out next, smiling when Shiro offered her his hand. She took it and stepped out into the parking structure, looking around curiously. The walls were open, but decorative metal spanned the openings between the support columns. The entire structure as far as she could see was made of the same material. It was similar to stone, but not.

“What is this made of?” she asked, her eyes traveling across the gray expanse curiously.

“Concrete,” Shiro answered, stepping up next to her and smiling. “Check this out though.”

He took Allura’s hand and guided her to the edge of the structure so she could look out of the small downtown district. The buildings around the structure Allura stood in were smaller in size and varied in style and purpose. The lights shining out of them were golden and somewhere music wafted through the air. People walked along the sidewalks below her and vehicles she’d never seen before rode on wheels down the streets. Occasionally, a hoverbike or smaller, two-wheeled vehicles, some motorized some not, drove by as well.

Lights hung above road intersections changing colors from green to yellow to red at measured intervals. When the lights were green, the vehicles moved freely in one direction, when the light turned yellow the vehicles slowed down or sped up to clear the intersection, and when the lights turned red the vehicles that had been moving stopped and traffic on the road perpendicular began to move. What an interesting way to direct traffic in an orderly fashion.

She looked up at the sky and noticed the clouds coming in from the direction the sun had set. The moon hung in the sky to her right down the street in the opposite direction from the clouds. A few stars were visible but just barely, their light drowned out by the light of the cement structure and the town.

“This is Earth?” she asked.

“One part of it,” Shiro said, leaning on the metal railing and taking a deep breath of the fresh air he’d missed so badly. “It’s different wherever you go. There’s mountains, oceans, desert, tundra, you name it, we’ve probably got it or something close to it.”

He smiled broadly, closed his eyes, and sniffed the air. He stopped and took another sniff. “Oh my god, boiled peanuts,” he said. He immediately looked up and down the street. “Who’s boiling peanuts?”

“It’s probably a brewery on the next street back,” Pidge said, standing on the railing so she could lean over the long drop. “There are times when I really wish I was of age.”

“Of age?” Lance asked, joining the group by the railing. His eyes scanned the street below in open interest.

“In this country, it’s illegal to drink alcohol under the age of twenty-one,” Hunk said, pushing up between Lance and Pidge. “It varies from country to country, but yeah.”

“How many countries exist on this planet?” Keith asked, his ears flicking back and forth at the many sounds. His nose was twitching too which was too funny for Hunk not to snicker.

“About two hundred,” Shiro answered, “each with their own laws and cultures. And that’s not counting the territories and micro-nations.”

Lance stared at the black paladin in shock. The red paladin’s face wore a nearly identical dumbstruck expression. “Two hundred?” Keith gasped.

“So there are two hundred languages?” Lance asked.

Shiro snorted and shot the aliens a look of sympathy. “Actually there are over 6,000 different unique languages spoken,” he said. “Again, that’s not counting local dialects.”

The aliens were absolutely floored. Lance and Keith turned back to the town below with a new sense of awe. Princess Allura met the black paladin’s eyes with her beautiful turquoise sparkling in excitement.

“Over 6,000?” she demanded. “How many do you speak?”

Shiro flushed and rubbed the back of his neck with his mechanical arm. “I speak two fluently,” he said. “I can get by with two more, but I’m nowhere near conversational level. Just the basics like ‘I don’t speak this language,’ ‘how much is this,’ and the all-important ‘where’s the restroom.’”

Pidge cackled, arching her back and leaning away from the railing happily. “I’m like that with Spanish,” she said. “Dad really wanted me to learn it, I but I chose coding instead.”

“Actually, I _am_ speaking my second language,” Hunk said, leaning over the railing so he could see around Pidge and Shiro and talk to Allura directly. “My first language is Hawaiian. I also speak Pidgin, but yeah.” He grinned. “English, Chinese, and Japanese made sense to learn considering where I’m from. I chose English.”

“And,” Allura asked hesitantly, “what language do they speak here?”

“English, Spanish, German, you name it really,” Shiro said. “Although if you know English or Spanish you should get by just fine for the most part.”

The princess hummed thoughtfully, stepping back from the railing. “The translators we gave you should translate the languages you know how to speak,” she said slowly. “But only as far as you all understand them.”

“Oh yeah,” Hunk said. “I completely forgot about that. So how do the translators work exactly?”

“They take auditory input and translate it almost instantaneously, so the wearer can understand what’s being said,” Keith answered. “But it only works if the speaker is wearing a translator or if the audio is sending out a signal the translators can detect and translate. Without that, we wouldn’t be able to understand the myriad languages in the universe.”

“So will you be able to understand what the people here will say?” Pidge asked.

Lance nodded. “As long as one of you is nearby, yes,” he said. “Or at least, that’s how the Altean translators on you and Hunk work. I’m not sure how the Galran translators Shiro and Keith are wearing work though.”

“Basically the same,” Keith said. “Our translators are newer and work fairly well with older versions that I’m aware of. It uses a mental connection to its users but, I guess unlike your Altean models, it stores the languages it ‘hears’ for later use. So since its detected and spent a while cataloguing the language Shiro’s been speaking, I should be able to understand. But if someone starts speaking another language, I’ll be useless.”

“But if me or Pidge are nearby and we understand the language, you’ll understand?” Hunk asked.

Shiro nodded. “That sounds about right from my experience anyway,” he said. He took another deep breath and groaned, dropping his face in his hands. “I still smell boiled peanuts,” he mumbled into his hands.

Hunk patted the black paladin’s back comfortingly. “Right there with you man,” he said. “If we can find an ATM somewhere, I can withdraw some money. And we can start chugging the caffeine.”

“Caffeine!” Pidge said, making grabby fingers at the air with a weird expression of demented desire. “I need at least ten bags worth.”

“You know you’ll be sharing, right Pidge?” Hunk said wryly.

“Not from my stash I won’t,” the green paladin hissed. “My caffeine!”

Shiro groaned and turned back to the inside of the parking structure.

“Hey Shiro?” Hunk called. “Where’re you going?”

“I’m going to actually go _get_ coffee instead of just talking about it,” the black paladin said. He looked back over his shoulder at the group. “You guys coming?”

“Hell yes!” Pidge crowed, hopping down from the railing and running up to Shiro’s side. She took up a proud stance and pointed to the stairwell along the wall nearby. “To the coffee!”

“ATM first,” Hunk said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “We need money to buy coffee.”

“This…coffee,” Allura said, joining her paladins with Lance and Keith by her side. “What sort of drink is it?”

“It’s black gold,” Pidge said.

“I have to agree with Pidge on this one,” Shiro said.

“It’s this drink made from a bean that’s actually a seed, ground up, roasted, and brewed into this black, caffeine-heavy drink,” Hunk explained helpfully. “Some people put sugar or milk or creamer or whatever in it to help with the taste. I’m a a fan of two creams and a sugar myself.”

Pidge shot him a dirty look. “Desecrating the black gold with you filthy white fake-milk glop.”

“Hey,” Hunk said giving his friend a look of mock offense. “Creamer is amazing and helps with the burnt flavor.”

“Everyone knows sugar is all you need,” Pidge said, waving disdainfully.

“Black.”

“Eh?” Hunk and Pidge gasped, staring at the black paladin in shock.

“I like it black,” Shiro said proudly.

“By Pele, he’s a purist,” Hunk muttered.

“My respect for you just skyrocketed,” Pidge declared, giving Shiro a look of star-struck awe.

“My confusion just skyrocketed,” Keith mumbled.

“I think I would like to try this coffee,” Allura said.

“I bet nunvil tastes better,” Lance said off-handedly.

“Blasphemy!” Pidge shouted, practically leaping at the prince. “Take that back, heathen!”

Only Hunk’s quick reaction- snatching Pidge’s shirt by the collar, could stop her from pouncing on Lance, who was now hiding behind his mate. Keith’s ears drooped as he sighed. This was going to be a long night. He could just tell.


	13. Amazonite: promotes awareness, draws luck and good fortune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Coran cleans, Rover panics, and Nyma has a request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I may not update tomorrow because it's Thanksgiving Day here in the grand ole USA. So I'll be busy hanging with my family, stuffing my face with lots of home-cooked food, and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (if I can find a channel that actually shows the parade and those two obnoxious talking head reporters who won't shut up and just interview people instead of actually SHOWING US THE PARADE YOU SELFISH PRICKS!!!!!!)
> 
> *ahem* That said, things will begin to get a bit darker mixed with the fluff now, then drop back completely into the abysmal darkness. There will be scars.
> 
> That said, Happy Thanksgiving Y'all~!!

Coran was in a good mood when he left the pod hangar. Rover flashed and beeped a little less energetically than it had before Pidge left. But Coran didn’t take offense. The little hoverbot was quite attached to the green paladin. It was rather adorable if Coran said so himself. He smiled and whistled as he walked into the lift with Rover hovering by his shoulder. The ride down to the kitchen's level was quiet, except for Rover's occasional curious beeping.

Coran carried on his own little conversation with the hoverbot. He may not know exactly what the bot was ‘saying,’ but talking to it and watching it flash and beep in reply was comforting. The Castle of Lions was a large ship and it sometimes felt overwhelming when he was alone here. Usually, he was too busy doing something like manning the weapons and acting as the eye in the sky for the paladins during battle to notice the loneliness creeping up on him. But now he had nothing to do and just Rover as his companion. He patted the hoverbot’s pointy top and strolled down the hallways listening to the bot tell him a story in beeps and flashes.

When he stepped into the kitchen, he was mortified by what he saw. Practically every surface of the kitchen walls, island, and floor were covered in Altean energy food. One look at the distribution hose on the wall explained everything. For some reason, the hose was tied in a knot with a plate over the nozzle. The pressure must have built up behind the knot and leaked out of the wall. Now how in the world had that happened?

Coran heaved a sigh and felt his shoulders slump. “Oh dear,” he muttered. “I was going to clean the pods this cycle.”

Rover beeped and bumped into Coran, nudging him out of the room.

“No, no,” Coran said. “The food has to be cleaned now while- What?” he paused and looked at the flashing hoverbot. “Yes I have other things to do.” The bot beeped loudly at him. “Are you yelling at me?” he said, crossing his arms in a huff. “I’ll have you know I enjoy a good cleaning.”

The bot flew up so it was eye level with Coran and squeaked, startling a laugh from the advisor.

“Yes,” he admitted with a smile. “I suppose I could do that first. Alright,” he said, throwing his hands up in surrender. “You win. A cup of nunvil and off to the healing pods. We’ll make the paladins scrub this mess up when they get back. Good team bonding session, I say.”

The walk back up to the healing pod chamber was quick, minus the brief stop to get a polisher from the storage room. Rover darted through the air beeping at Coran as he walked until they made it to the chamber. Once inside, Coran gestured to the devices and said, “Well, my little friend, which one should we clean first?”

Rover paused, turning so its camera eye could see the whole room. It flew in, hovering over the hatches that housed the deactivated healing pods. It settled over the third one, beeping happily.

“That one, eh?” Coran asked. “Alright. Let’s get to it.”

The advisor typed in the code to open the third hatch and waited until the healing pod lifted out from beneath the floor and locked in place. Rover bumped the button that would open the pod’s shield and stepped inside to begin cleaning the metal back and sides. He started whistling to pass the time and even Rover joining in with its beeping and flashing. At one point, the hoverbot began swaying to the beat of Coran’s song.

Suddenly, an insistent alert sounded through the Castle. It wasn’t an emergency alert, thank the Lions, but it indicated an urgent message being received. Had something happened to the princess and the paladins on their way to Earth?

“Oh goodness,” Coran groaned. “What have those children gotten themselves into now?”

He moved to step out of the pod when he walked into something clear and solid. Surprised, the advisor backed up and stared at the invisible thing blocking his way. Curiously, the alert sounded a bit muffled.

“It can’t be,” he gasped, dropping the cleaning device and pressing his hands on the pod’s shield. “What?” He pounded his fists on the shield. “Open up. Rover! Rover, deactivate the pod. Quickly.”

The reclaimed hoverbot was flashing frantically and darting between the control panel and the shield separating it from Coran. Oh that’s right. Rover didn’t understand Altean script.

So cold.

* * *

 

“Damn it,” Rolo grunted in growing frustration. “They aren’t picking up. Why aren’t they picking up?”

“They may not be in a position to answer,” Nyma said, fiddling with Beezer’s inner mechanics to be sure the problem wasn’t on their end. “You know what that’s like.”

They had to get the message out tonight before they would be busy with the Market. They should be resting up for the Market tomorrow, but neither of them found sleep easy.

They had no other choice but to wait for the simulated night to pass and the new cycle to begin. Rolo shook his head. “Just let me be mad, okay?” he said.

Nyma shrugged. She watched her partner toy with the communicator encryption device for a another teck or two before sighing. She stood from her mat and walked around the yurt to stretch her legs. Hopefully the quasi exercise would tire her out enough to fall asleep easier.

On one of her laps, she noticed something small and shiny sitting on top of her clothes in her travel bag. It wasn’t until Nyma walked over and knelt by her bag to examine the object that she recognized it for what it was, the fluorite shard Prince Lance had given her. She held it up to the dim light filtering in through the yurt’s darkened windows and considered her options.

“We could always use this,” she said, nodding to the shard in her hand.

Rolo stopped what he was doing with a sigh of resignation. “If it works, give it a try,” he said. “If you even know how to use it, that is. It’s not like that Lance guy explained it or anything.”

Nyma shot her partner a look before lowering the shard so it settled in her palm. Rolo was right; she didn’t know how to use it. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t try. She thought back to when Lance first drew out her quintessence and guided it into the carnelian shard he kept. If she could somehow reproduce that state of mind, perhaps she could initiate a call from her end. That could be useful in case something happened.

Shaking one of her long appendages over her shoulder, she settled down cross-legged on her bedding with the fluorite shard cradled in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused on relaxing her entire body, muscle by muscle. She could feel her shoulders twitching as the tense muscles there relaxed. She hadn’t even realized she’d had that much tension in her body to begin with.

When she felt as calm as she could get given the situation, she closed her hands over the shard and thought of the Altean prince. She wasn’t sure how long it took to make a connection, just that it was long enough for her to make a mental note to practice this more often.

_:Nyma?:_

She opened her eyes and looked up to see Lance in front of her. The prince was in his usual attire, but he was sitting on something she couldn’t see. He was also staring at her with two surprised eyes.

“Got your eye back, I see?” Nyma said with a smile.

“It worked?” Rolo gasped, sitting up straight and looking around for the image of Lance.

Lance flushed and smiled, reaching up to touch the corner of his right eye. _:Allura and Coran put it in earlier this cycle,:_ he said. _:Did you need something?:_

“Rolo’s here with me,” Nyma said.

_:I’m not surprised.:_

“We have a request for your mate.”

Lance blinked and tilted his head in mild surprise. _:Alright,:_ he said slowly. _:He’s with me but he won’t be able to hear you unless I pass him the message. Is that acceptable?_

“Ask him,” Nyma said. “It involves his trade.”

Lance turned to look up at someone Nyma couldn’t see. _:It’s Nyma and Rolo,:_ he said, probably to Keith. _:They want to talk to you about your trade. … Yes, I did.:_  Lance grimaced and rolled his eyes. _:Stop trying to be Allura, Keith.:_ Keith must have said something else because Lance reached out and grabbed his mate, instantly making him visible. _:Shut up and listen to what I say.:_

“Hello, halfbreed,” Nyma said, grinning at the startled red paladin standing next to his mate. Keith stared at her dumbstruck, ears erect, and eyes wide. His mouth moved, forming syllables she couldn’t hear. But what he said made Lance chuckle.

 _:It would probably be best if I didn’t pass on that message,:_ the prince said, still smiling. _:I have to keep some semblance of polite conversation so the people around us won’t think I’m too crazy.:_ Here he stopped talking to look around them in mild concern.

“Is this a bad time?” Nyma asked. She understood that feeling and if that was the case, she would cut her call short.

 _:Actually this is a good time,:_ Lance said. _:We’re waiting for Pidge and Hunk to get some of their currency from an ATM so we can get something called coffee. Apparently a special card is required to make the device work and no one has one.:_

“Typical. You’re on their planet?” she asked, leaning forward eagerly.

“Whose planet?” Rolo asked, scooting closer to Nyma. “Those weird alien people?”

“Humans, Rolo,” Nyma chided teasingly. “They’re called Humans.”

 _:Yes, were on their planet,:_ Lance said. _:Apparently they left without any explanation to their family.:_ His face grew grim and his gaze dropped. _:They wanted to let their family know they’re alive and well. Also,:_ he added with a smirk, _:they’re craving that coffee drink as well as a few, ahem, feminine products.:_

Nyma cackled. “Necessities, dear prince,” she said. “Unless you want her bleeding all over you or however her species deals with that sort of thing, I’d suggest you get her what she needs.”

 _:We are,:_ Lance said. _:We just need currency to do any of that and apparently getting currency is proving to be-:_ he winced and Keith’s ears flipped to the right followed shortly by his gaze, _:-a bit of a chore.:_

Keith said something and Lance grumbled, _:I’m not going to ask.:_

“The eye looks good, by the way,” Nyma said, rocking when Rolo placed a hand on her so he could see the prince and Keith.

“Hey guys,” Rolo said, smiling broadly. “Miss us?”

“They can’t hear you, idiot,” Nyma said.

Rolo shrugged, effectively causing her to shrug, “So tell him what I said.”

“Rolo says hello,” Nyma said, shooting a mild glare at her partner.

 _:We figured,:_ Lance said with a wry grin. _:But I believe you had something to ask Keith.:_

“Yes, but we also have some news,” Nyma said.

 _:Start with your question,:_ Lance said. _:That seems to be the reason why you called in the first place.:_

Nyma looked at Rolo. “What’s your question?” she asked.

“I need proof to give Manset,” Rolo said seriously. “He refuses to even listen to my request to help me find the juniberries unless I can prove it's symbiotic to the Alteans.”

Nyma hummed and thought about her words carefully before speaking. “We may have found someone who can get what you traded for Keith,” she said slowly, waiting for Lance to pass her message to the halfbreed. “But we need proof that it’s not toxic.”

Lance's eyebrows drew low over his eyes in suspicion as he repeated Nyma’s words to Keith. The red paladin shook his head negatively in reluctance and said something.

 _:He says he doesn’t know how to get proof,:_ Lance said.

“I was afraid of that,” Rolo muttered. He wiped a hand over his face as his thoughts tried to drown each other in a confused mess. He let go of Nyma’s shoulder and leaned back on his hands to stare at the yurt’s waterproof fabric ceiling. “’Kay, how about we try something else?”

“Such as?”

The trader stuck a twig in his mouth and said, “Ask them if there’s any way they can come to Meserie some time this turn.”

“Do you think you and your team can come join us on Meserie this turn?” Nyma asked, flicking Rolo’s twig so it almost flew out of his mouth.

 _:Why?:_ Lance asked, clearly not sure about this whole thing. _:Why the secrecy?:_

“Because a trade is between the trader and the customer,” Nyma answered. “It’s a binding contract that includes secrecy as one of its privileges.”

The prince pursed his lips like he’d eaten something sour but nodded all the same. _:I understand,:_ he said reluctantly. _:I don’t like it, but I understand.:_ He sighed and looked at something behind Keith in consideration before speaking again. _:I’ll ask my sister what she has planned after we finish here. I’ll contact you tomorrow with a definitive answer.:_

“Think you can get your contact to agree to wait a turn?” Nyma asked Rolo.

The trader nodded. “Manset trusts me,” he said. “He may not like this whole thing, but he trusts me. I should be able to buy us a turn. Gives us time to work on our plan in case we need a backup.”

“Good point,” the Teiidae agreed. She looked back at Lance and nodded. “That works for us,” she said to him. “Tell Keith we’ll get our contact to wait a turn for you to arrive. Then we’ll set up a private meeting so we can prove to our contact the item you want isn’t toxic.”

She waited for Lance to pass on her message, watching the halfbreed’s reaction closely. Keith seemed frustrated but understanding- curious for an alpha. Curious for a Galra, period. She titled her head when Keith said something she couldn’t hear to the prince.

 _:Why?:_ Lance asked Keith. Keith’s reply was seen but unheard by the female trader. Whatever it was, Lance wasn’t exactly thrilled by it. _:Fine,:_ he grumbled. _:But only if you tell me what it is you traded for when we get there.:_ Keith nodded and Lance sighed. _:Alright,:_ he said, turning back to Nyma. _:I’ll convince Allura to go to Meserie as soon as we’re done here. I’ll grab a few things from here to trade as well if you’re interested.:_

Well, that was thoughtful. “What’s the catch?” Nyma asked.

Lance grinned. _:You let me in on what Keith traded for,:_ he said. _:Not now, when we get there. Also, incidentally, if Allura joins us, she’ll probably alter her appearance slightly. We both will most likely, now that I think about it. I doubt Alteans will be instantly recognizable anymore, but just to be on the safe side.:_

“As long as Keith’s with you and he’s not changed,” Nyma said nodding, “it shouldn’t be a problem.”

 _:Good. Now, you said-:_  Lance jumped out of his seat staring at something Nyma couldn’t see. After a moment, Keith started laughing silently, patted the prince’s shoulder, and strode off disappearing from Nyma’s sight. Lance breathed a sigh of relief and dropped back down to his seat. _:Humans are insane,:_ he said.

The Teiidae snorted. “I noticed that during my stint with you guys pretty quickly,” she said. “Although I think they’re in good company.”

 _:What’s that supposed to mean?:_ Lance grumbled in mild annoyance.

“I mean you and your sister are just as crazy as the Humans,” Nyma said. “Just in a different way.”

Lance chuckled despite himself, recovering after a few ticks. _:Now that we have that taken care of,:_ he said, getting comfortable, _:you said you have news for me?:_

Any amusement the trader might have felt vanished. “Prince Lotor is here on Meserie,” she said without preamble. The prince sat bolt upright, eyes wide in surprise and a touch of fear. “Rolo saw him on one of the higher levels. Neither of us know how long he’s going to be here, but if he sticks to the usual pattern then I doubt he’ll venture too far into the mid-levels. But Rolo and I are keeping our eyes and ears open just in case. I thought you should know ahead of time.”

 _:Do you know why he’s there?:_ Lance demanded urgently.

“No,” Nyma said, shaking her head. “We suspect he’s either stopping by for the trading going on in the establishments on the higher levels, or replacing a toy or two from his harem or hunting rebels. If it’s the latter, then we could be in trouble.”

 _:Wait, wait,:_ Lance said, holding up a hand. _:Harem?:_ he repeated in disbelief. _:Harem as in multiple bedmates?:_

“Yes,” Nyma said. “I know, it’s very unlike the Galra to take multiple people to bed, but he does often. He’s become known for it, actually. The Galra look down on him for that, but they respect his mind and prowess in battle enough that no one challenges his authority. The few who tried died, eventually.”

Lance blanched. _:I think I can guess where his conquests ended up before they died,:_ he said grimly.

“Lotor is known for breaking prisoners and hostages,” Nyma said. “I’d steer clear of him if I were you.”

 _:I plan to,:_ Lance said. He glanced over his shoulder and stood. _:It looks like we’re moving now. I’ll contact you next cycle with Allura’s answer. May the Lions protect you.:_

“Thank you,” Nyma said, tilting her head at the unfamiliar farewell.

The prince’s image vanished and she looked down at the fluorite shard in her hand. Ticking it back in her bag, she flopped back on her mat so her head landed on Rolo’s stomach causing him to cough in surprise. After a few tecks of changing positions and a brief fight over blankets and pillows, she and her partner snugged in for the night. She didn’t remember when she fell asleep, only that she did. Perhaps the Lions were protecting her.


	14. Diopside: heals trauma, brings necessary tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rover improvises, Lance is confused, and Pidge calls her mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** The majority of this chapter is from Rover's POV so it may seem a bit odd. But don't worry. I think you'll all like what happens. However, fair warning, there will be tears near the end.

This wasn’t in its programming. It didn’t know how to deal with this problem. The Hairy-Lipped One was out of reach and the Green One had left with the other ones. It had no backup process it could draw from to fix this. None of the codes, old and new, told it what to do. All it knew how to do was flash and beep codes only the Green One seemed to understand. Hairy-Lipped One was nice, even though it didn’t fit the usual codes it used for problem solving.

The Green One wasn’t here to help it with this new concept of ‘improvising,’ so it didn’t know what to do. All it could do was watch as the healing pod cut it off from the Hairy-Lipped One and dropped back through the hatch in the floor. This didn’t compute. It wasn’t familiar with the computer systems of this place, but it knew from observing that this was not typical behavior.

What to do? What to do? Which code to use? Which program to run? It didn’t know.

It turned so its camera eye looked back down at the hidden pod and swung side to side as it attempted to dig through its lines and lines of code for something, anything to help it. It couldn’t find anything useful. It needed the Green One’s help.

It had no way of contacting the Green One, no way to get help. Something flickered on the edges of its view and it spun to focus on the distraction. It was similar in appearance to the others but resembled the Black One in height and the Hairy-Lipped One in hair style. However, the clothes the holographic humanoid wore were unknown to it. It ran through the many clothing styles stored in its memory banks but could only find a rough similarity to Galran armor. However, this hologram was not of any Galra or Galra subspecies.

The hologram’s face also had no match in its records. Before it could scan the hologram’s face and run a more thorough search, the image vanished. It beeped and jumped in the air, spinning in a full circle searching for the holographic humanoid’s signature. Just to make sure all variables were taken into consideration, it also looked up and down. Nothing. It was alone.

The beep is let out was softer than usual when it finally understood the situation. It was alone. It sank lower in the air, letting out a plaintive beep. No response. It beeped again, this time at a higher volume, still nothing. It did not know how to deal with this problem. It was alone, the Green One was gone with the others, and the Hairy-Lipped One was shut away from it.

It beeped pathetically, drooping lower to the ground. It gave another wailing beep, listening to the sound waves reverberate through the empty room and back to its auditory sensors. What was it to do? It didn’t want to be alone. It was scared.

Scared? That didn’t compute.

Unless scared was a byproduct of emotion, like what the Green One experienced when it was going to power down to kill the subcommander. Scared meant fear. Fear was an emotion. If it was scared, then it was detecting emotion. It didn’t like this emotion. It should not be in its programming. How should it fix this problem?

It turned back to where the pod holding the Hairy-Lipped One vanished. Maybe the Hairy-Lipped One could help it. But it couldn’t get the pod back out. The script on the control panel was not recognized. Perhaps then a stray from programming would be necessary?

Anything to get rid of this scared feeling.

It flew up to the control panel and examined the readouts. None of it was recognizable, so pressing buttons in a randomized pattern was the best option. It bumped the first button and nothing happened. It bumped another button and nothing happened. The third button, however, had a reaction.

Air hissed as the hatched slid open and the pod lifted from the floor with the Hairy-Lipped One still inside. According to its scans, the Hairy-Lipped One’s body temperature was much lower then what was considered safe for that species. It would need to raise the Hairy-Lipped One’s temperature, which meant pressing more buttons.

It turned its camera eye back to the panel and bumped another button, returning to the trial and error process. This time it was the second button that had a favorable result. The frost began to recede from the pod’s transparent shield, but the shield wouldn’t retract. It bumped more buttons but didn’t get another favorable result.

There was one thing that the Green One sometimes did that sometimes worked. It had always thought that thing was random, but that thing worked more often then not. Logically, since none of the other methods it had utilized worked, perhaps that thing would. It was worth a try.

It built up a charge within its system until electricity buzzed on its surface, then it flew directly into the pod’s shield as hard as it could. The force of the impact knocked it to the ground, causing it to roll in an uncontrolled motion. When it was able to get its audio and visual processors working again, it flew wobbly into the air focusing its camera eye on the pod. Unfortunately, its vision was immediately blotted out by the image of the Hairy-Lipped One falling on top of it. It took a bit of effort to wriggle its way out from under the Hairy-Lipped One but it succeeded.

Once free, it turned and ran a scan on the Hairy-Lipped One’s vitals. The heart rate was a bit low but rising steadily. The same was true for the blood pressure and body temperature. Breathing speed and depth was stabilizing also, finally reaching a satisfactory rhythm just as the Hairy-Lipped One’s eyes opened.

It beeped a question. It knew the Hairy-Lipped One didn’t understand it like the Green One did, but the Hairy-Lipped One still listened and talked to it. It was good to be acknowledged.

“Rover?” the Hairy-Lipped One asked, its eyes wide. His body shook. The most likely cause for the shaking was the Hairy-Lipped One’s body temperature, which was still below what it considered normal for that species.

Nevertheless, it beeped and affirmative reply and nudged the Hairy-Lipped One so he stood. He wobbled on his feet, flailing out with an arm and grabbing hold of it for balance. It didn’t mind. It would be beneficial if the Hairy-Lipped One stood.

“I…” the Hairy-Lipped One said. “That was…”

He turned to assess the damage to the healing pod he had been sealed in and so did it. It had already assessed the damaged and determined the device to be irrecoverable. However, a second scan would do no harm.

“I, um,” the Hairy-Lipped One said again. “I think perhaps it would be best if I…ah… Oh, goodness me.”

It beeped, flashing to get the Hairy-Lipped One’s attention. It nudged its companion out of the healing pod chamber and to the lift. It had assessed the Hairy-Lipped One’s condition and determined the best option was for him to recharge. His body was not capable of safely operating therefore a temporary entry into sleep mode was in order. That would give whatever components were working incorrectly at the moment a chance to recalibrate and begin working properly once more.

“Yes,” the Hairy-Lipped One said, his words slurring ever so slightly. “Yes, I suppose you’re right, Rover.” He stepped into his quarters when it nudged him. “You’ll wake me if the princess or the others call, won’t you?” he asked.

It bobbed in the pattern it had learned by observation meant an affirmative. The Hairy-Lipped One repeated the gesture and collapsed onto his larger charger. The charger squeaked when he landed on it and pulled several layers up so they covered him. It beeped encouragingly. It knew from observation that the layers added warmth to the humanoids, which was a positive outcome.

It waited, hovering by the Hairy-Lipped One’s charger until the humanoid successfully entered sleep mode. Then it settled on the topmost layer of the charger, taking note of the softness of it, and allowed itself to enter a lower power mode. It was no longer alone. It was no longer detecting this program called ‘scared.’ That was a desirable outcome. Still, it determined a careful assessment of the events over the past two tocks, nine tecks, and seventy-two ticks was in order. Perhaps the Green One could aid in that assessment. It logged that command into its system for future execution.

* * *

 

“What by the five Lions was that?” Lance demanded when he finally finished his conversation with Nyma.

“Just a redneck in a jacked-up truck with a train horn instead of a regular horn,” Pidge said, waving the prince’s demand aside. “Don’t worry about it.”

Lance shook his head and stared after the retreating truck. “A what now?” he asked in confusion.

“Trust Pidge on this one,” Shiro said, patting the prince’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. More importantly,” he said with a heavy sigh, “we have a problem with money.”

“We can’t get any,” Hunk said, sitting dejectedly on the curb near the ATM.

“And I told you to leave it me,” Pidge said.

“We are not stealing anything,” Allura said firmly.

“There is no ‘we,’ princess,” Pidge said. “Just ‘I.’ All you have to do is talk to some drunk guy and I can snitch his wallet, grab a couple bucks, bingo. We have money. Easy-peasy.”

“We can’t steal,” Lance said aghast.

“Why not?” Keith asked, looking genuinely curious. “If it helps us, why not do it?”

“Because it’s wrong,” the princess said firmly, crossing her arms.

“Trust me,” Pidge said in a derisive tone. “You won’t have a problem with it once you spend all of five seconds with a drunk dude at a bar.”

“Or,” Shiro said, cutting off the argument before it could gather more steam, “you could call your mom and ask her to come over.”

Pidge held up a hand to argue the point, paused in surprise, and slumped. “I didn’t think about that,” she admitted reluctantly.

The black paladin sighed. “Look, let’s just walk down to that café on the street corner down there,” he said pointing to a squat little building down the street, “and you can use their phone to call your mom.”

Pidge nodded and the group began walking down the street together. Most of the people Lance saw were dressed much like Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge, but some were dressed in clothes that did not fit the aesthetic of this little town. Some wore clothes similar to his and his sister’s, other wore ridiculously outlandish outfits that were completely unfamiliar to him, and still others were dressed up as some sort of creature or animal native to this planet. It was…odd.

The café was a quaint little building squished between a sloping alley on the right, a building on the left, and another building directly above and behind it. The front wall was glass, allowing prospective customers to get a glimpse of the atmosphere inside. A small deck sat comfortably near the café’s front door by the sloped alley. A semi-full parking lot filled with the wheeled vehicles the Humans used for transportation stretched from the front of the building to the street. The white, painted brick wall of the building directly to the left of the café was covered in a mural that was both soothing and strange.

“Oh my god, coffee,” Pidge said running through the parking lot and into the café without waiting for the group to catch up.

“Alright, guys,” Shiro said, slowing his stride a bit. “Don’t try to act like us. Just be yourselves and everything should be fine. We’ll find a spot to sit and wait for Mrs. Holt and hopefully things will work out.”

“You don’t think we’ll stand out too much?” the princess asked, a slight flush in her cheeks.

Shiro shook his head. “Normally, I’d say definitely yes. But since tomorrow is Halloween, most people won’t give you a second glance. Just don’t try to deliberately draw attention to yourself.” A shadow fell over his eyes. “We don’t know what we’ve missed while we were gone. A lot could have happened.”

Allura nodded and they walked inside. The café was filled with a warm glow from the lights set in the ceiling and hanging from the beams crisscrossing the lowered ceiling in the hallway behind the entrance. Curious, Lance walked past Shiro and poked his head around the corner and his eyes widened. People of all ages, genders, and appearances were sitting at tables lining both walls. Some were talking, others typing away on primitive computers, others playing games, and some just eating or drinking. It was relaxing.

The music playing was like nothing Lance had ever heard before either. It involved instruments he didn’t recognize singing words in a language his translator didn’t recognize but that sounded fluid and sensual. He liked it.

“Excuse me,” Pidge asked, her voice cutting through Lance’s thoughts. “Would you mind if I borrowed your phone right quick? I lost my phone and I need to call my mom.”

The person behind the bar hesitated. “I can’t let you leave the room with it,” she said awkwardly. “But you can call her if you stay right here.” She gestured to the entry way.

“Sure, yeah that’s fine,” Pidge said easily. “I just need my mom to come get me.”

“Sure thing.” The young woman, who couldn’t have been any older than Allura, turned and plucked a device from its cradle and handed it to the green paladin. “Just make it quick, please,” she said. “We sometimes get calls from customers.”

“No problem,” Pidge said, taking the device with a friendly smile. She pressed the symbols on the device in a particular order, held it up to her ear, and waited. “Hello?” she asked after a few ticks. “Mom? Mom, it’s me Katie. I…” She licked her lips and shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously. “I’m in downtown. Think you could come get me?” she asked.

Pidge hesitated, the color fading from her cheeks. “Mom?” she called. It sounded almost plaintive to Lance. “Mom, are you there?” she called. “Can you hear me? Mom?”

“Did you get the voicemail?” Hunk asked.

Pidge shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I mean, I didn’t get the usual ‘Please leave a message at the beep,’ message thing.”

“Did you dial the right number?” Hunk offered. “No judgement if you didn’t’. I’ve had my fair share of miss-dials.”

“No, Hunk,” Pidge said, rolling her eyes. “I think I’d remember my own phone number, thank you very much. I only memorized it when I was four.”

_“Katie?”_

“Mom?” Pidge said, jerking her attention back to the device in her hand. “Mom, can you hear me?”

_“Katie? Is that you?”_

“Y-yeah,” Pidge said, her entire form slumping. “I… Sorry I didn’t contact you sooner, or tell you where I was going, or tell you I was leaving in the first place, or…”

A tear slipped down Pidge’s face and Lance suddenly felt like he was intruding on something personal. He bowed his head shifted awkwardly. “I’ll, um, go get us a table, I guess,” he said, stepping around the corner into the back hallway.

“I’ll go with you,” Keith said.

Lance nodded and looked down the hallway for an empty table big enough to seat a group their size. There was a sofa and a cushioned chair on either side of a low table at the end of the hallway that was still unoccupied so he went there.

* * *

 

 “You want me to stay, Pidge?” Shiro asked softly.

The green paladin blinked owlishly up at her leader and swallowed around the lump in her throat. After a second, she nodded and leaned forward so her forehead rested against Shiro’s midsection. If her shoulders shook as she spoke to her mother on the phone, Shiro made no mention of it.

He looked up when he noticed Allura lingering nearby and offered her a fragile smile. Her concern was visible in her eyes. Next to her, Hunk inched towards the hallway sitting area and followed after the red and blue paladins. Shiro’s heart went out to the yellow paladin. Out of their little group of Humans, Hunk’s family was the farthest away at the moment. He reached out and gave his friend a comforting pat on the back. It made Hunk smile, but there was still a lingering sadness in those brown eyes.

This wasn’t going to be easy for any of them, least of all the Alteans. Lance and Allura had no family to contact, no home world to go back to. They had nothing. Keith may have family somewhere but he never spoke of it. It often made Shiro wonder what went through Keith’s mind when he decided to give up his life as a Galra soldier and join Team Voltron. There was so much they didn’t know about each other. Maybe their time here would be their chance to fix that.

“Is there anything I can do?” Allura asked softly, reaching out to touch Pidge’s shoulder but stopping just short of contact. Shiro watched her bite her lip, internally struggling with herself, before she sighed and gently squeezed Pidge’s shoulder.

Shiro smiled faintly at the show of kindness. “She’ll be alright,” he said. “She just needs some time. Why don’t you go on back to join the others? We’ll follow you shortly.”

“I understand what you’re doing, Shiro,” the princess said. “But I can’t do that.” She lifted her gaze to her black paladin and said, “My paladins are my family. Alteans don’t leave family to suffer alone. I may only be able to offer my support, but that’s more than nothing.”

Shiro blinked in surprise when Pidge shifted in his hold and reached up to grab Allura's hand, squeezing it tightly. Pidge never stopped talking to her mother in tear-mangled words, but Shiro knew this was Pidge asking Allura to stay. He wouldn’t fight that request.

“Space Dad’s here too,” he heard Pidge say in a muffled voice.

He sighed. This was going to be a long night. He’d better get coffee soon or he would seriously fall asleep on a bench on the sidewalk at this rate.


	15. Chrysoprase: increases communication and prevents depression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the reunion begins and the leaders of the rebellion converse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** And the reunion begins. I wonder what their impromptu audience thinks? Couple FYIs. The two characters in the last part of this chapter are NOT OCs. They are canon character from _Voltron: Defenders of the Universe_ , the same series that Lotor is from. Manset, the owner of the Den Resistance lounge is from _Voltron Force_ which I have never watched, and refuse to watch because they kill off their Shiro. That's a big no-no for me.
> 
> As for the strange names, this is where I got them:
> 
> 1) balea - Galician word for "whale"  
> 2) marglytta - Icelandic word for "jellyfish"  
> 3) Anahita - Persian/Zoroastrian goddess of "the Waters"  
> 4) Nammu - Mesopotamian goddess of the primeval sea  
> 5) sailfin - the word I'm using for flying fish. Yes they are real and yes, they exist on Earth. They're awesome. Look them up.

Mrs. Holt didn’t arrive until about an hour or so later. There was no clock in the café and the Altean ticker wasn’t exactly accurate for keeping track of Earth time, so Shiro couldn’t know for certain how much time had passed since Pidge made the call. They’d had to return the phone to the café- something neither Pidge nor Mrs. Holt had been happy about. But Shiro knew the woman was on her way, and that was reassuring.

Ever since hanging up with her mom, Pidge had curled up in the middle of the couch between Allura and Shiro and said nothing. Hunk was busy teaching Lance and Keith how to play the game LIFE. Allura was watching the gameplay closely, despite keeping her hands busy by rubbing Pidge’s back. Hunk had chosen the game because it was a good way to introduce the aliens to a generalized version of a modern life on Earth.

Lance was confused and Keith was utterly lost, but Allura was able to keep up. The dynamic between the players had been a source of amusement for Shiro and Pidge for the duration of their wait. Pidge may have said nothing, but her occasional smiles were a small victory both Shiro and Hunk took to heart.

When Mrs. Holt arrived, Shiro was the first to notice. He would tell the others later that he’d felt what he could only describe as a change in the air currents, however strange that sounded, when Mrs. Holt arrived. It felt like a rush of cold air rushed down the hallway, sending shivers up his spine. That may not have been what happened, but that’s what he felt.

When he looked up, the smile he’d been wearing on his face from Keith’s antics, while he tried to figure out how to put the latest child addition to his tiny car token, vanished. Mrs. Holt, her short strawberry blonde hair hanging by her face in a windblown fashion, was standing at the far end of the café’s hallway close to the bar. Her brown eyes darted from table to table, desperately trying to find someone she recognized.

Shiro nudged the young green paladin next to him, startling Pidge from her thoughts. When Pidge looked up at him, he nodded to the other end of the hallway. Pidge’s eyes grew round and watery when she saw her mom for the first time what was most likely months. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to, really.

Pidge just stood and bolted down the hallway towards her mother. The movement caught Mrs. Holt’s attention and Shiro looked away. He saw the hug but the rest was just too personal to watch. He looked at Allura next to him instead. Her turquoise eyes were also damp but she held herself with the quiet dignity he’d come to expect from her. Even Lance was silent; his gaze dropped to his lap. Keith did watch, his ears twitching as if listening to their conversation. Shiro had no idea if the halfbreed could hear what was said or not, but the look in Keith’s violet and gold eyes was too distant to be focused on the moment at hand.

Out of the whole group, only Hunk was handling the reunion well. He was smiling and spinning the wheel for his move. If Shiro hadn’t known better, he would have thought the yellow paladin was ignoring the interaction entirely. But he saw the subtle glances Hunk was tossing at the mother-daughter reunion, and knew his friend was relieved for Pidge. But perhaps there was a hint of jealousy in those glances as well.

Shiro could understand that jealousy. It wasn’t meant cruelly or with any desire to harm the other party. It was born of a desire to experience the same emotions Pidge and her mother were feeling. Hunk’s family were far away in Hawaii, out of reach for the moment. Shiro’s family were dead and gone. Everything the Alteans considered home and family were 10,000 years gone, and Keith’s family was a question that remained unanswered.

Shiro would have been perfectly content to let Pidge and Mrs. Holt take their time, but they were gathering attention from the other customers which wasn’t what they needed at the moment. He touched Allura’s shoulder and stood, making his way around the coffee table toward the Holts. He felt the distinct prick of eyes on him but dismissed them.

“Hello, Mrs. Holt,” he said softly, keeping his hands at his sides. “Why don’t you come join us.”

He was ready for her surprise, but not for the absolutely awestruck expression she was giving him right now. It made him feel a little uncomfortable, all things considered. Thankfully, Pidge stepped back and pulled her mom along with them to where their little group still sat at the far end of the hallway. Allura stood politely from the couch and moved to one of the two armchairs on either side so Pidge and her mother could sit together on the couch.

Shiro took the other armchair and nudged Hunk with his foot, encouraging the yellow paladin to scooch over so Mrs. Holt could slip by unhindered. No one said anything; there was nothing to say. Or at least, Shiro couldn’t think of anything to say. Mrs. Holt apparently thought otherwise.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered, still holding her daughter close. Her eyes, however, continuously darted between Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro in disbelief. “I don’t understand,” she said again, louder. “You’re… They said you were dead. They said your ship crashed. They said it was pilot error.”

Shiro flinched, paling at the accusation. Unable to formulate a coherent response, he slouched into the armchair, leaning over to rest his forearms on his thighs and hide his face in his hands.

“Was it true?” the woman begged. “Please, tell me. Was it true? Matt, Samuel, are… Are they…?”

“They’re alive,” Hunk said, sitting up from his place on the floor by the LIFE game board and turning to look Mrs. Holt in the eye. “Look, it’s a long story but they are alive.”

Mrs. Holt focused her wide, watery gaze on the yellow paladin, still trying to make heads or tails of what she was seeing let alone hearing. “Hunk?” she asked. “Hunk Palakiko?”

Hunk smiled in surprise. “Yeah,” he said proudly. “You know me? Did Pidge tell you about me?”

Mrs. Holt shook her head stiffly. “They said you and Katie were missing, presumed dead,” she said, her voice heavy with emotion the belayed the spark of righteous fury kindling in her eyes. “They wouldn’t say how or why. Just that you were MIA.”

“Whoa, _what?”_ Hunk cried, waving his hands frantically. “When did that happen? Dude, I am very much alive. Right guys?” he said, looking between his friends desperately. “Right? I mean I’m not dead, right? You guys would tell me if I was, right? I mean, Lance? You would tell your bro something important like that, right?”

Lance was silent, avoiding his gaze.

“Lance?” Hunk demanded suspiciously. “Keith?” The red paladin also avoided his gaze. “Shiro?” he turned his pleading gaze to the black paladin sitting behind him. “Shiro, please for the love of Pele, tell me I’m not dead.”

Shiro sighed heavily. “No, Hunk. You’re not dead,” he said wearily, a slight smile tugging the corners of his lips. “I think I’d know if you were.”

“Okay, good,” Hunk said. “At least I can depend on _someone_ _around here,”_ he said, shooting a judgmental glare at the prince and halfbreed.

Lance snorted, quickly recovering. But not fast enough to go missed by Hunk. The yellow paladin gave the blue paladin a flat glare which only served to further degrade the prince’s self control.

“Hunk,” Shiro said. “Leave Lance alone. Lance,” he said, lifting his head to the prince, “don’t tease Hunk. Keith,” he looked at the halfbreed, “you’re an alpha. Don’t be a follower.”

Keith snorted in amusement. “Never,” he said smirking.

“There was no crash,” Shiro said, sitting up, but finding it incredibly difficult to hold Mrs. Holt’s gaze for longer than a moment. “We landed on Kerberos without any problems and began drawing ice cores from the ice sheets on the surface. We were captured by…” He glanced at the princess, silently asking permission. She pursed her lips, but nodded and he sighed. “We were captured by the Galra. As far as I know, they’re still alive. I just…” He bowed his head in shame. “I just don’t know where.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Mrs. Holt demanded. “Takashi Shirogane, where are my boys?”

"Whoa, boy," Hunk murmured. "She's using her Mom Voice."

“He doesn’t know, Mom,” Pidge said, leaning back from her mother’s embrace to wipe her eyes.

“Your nose is running,” Hunk said helpfully.

“Screw you, Hunk,” Pidge said, earning her a chuckle.

“Katie, language,” Mrs. Holt said.

That set Hunk off. He all but fell over laughing. “L-language,” he gasped. “She told you to…watch your…” He coughed. “Language!” And he was off again. This time even Shiro was fighting a grin.

Pidge’s face was burning red as she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at her friends fiercely. “My language is fine,” she pouted.

“Whatever you say, Pidge,” Hunk said, still trying to catch his breath.

Shiro huffed and had to look away to keep from laughing in Pidge’s face. “Your language has certainly,” he snorted, “improved.”

Pidge shifted her formidable glare to the black paladin. “I heard that, Space Dad,” she said, glowering.

“Space Dad?” Mrs. Holt repeated incredulously. She narrowed her gaze at Shiro. “What-?”

“Shiro’s Space Dad,” Hunk said.

“I am not,” Shiro said.

“He’s in denial too,” Hunk continued, a huge, unrepentant grin on his face.

“I know where that is,” Pidge said, her face a study in calm. “It’s in Egypt, right?”

And Hunk lost it again. This time, Shiro didn’t join in. He just rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Space Dad,” Lance muttered, trying to cover his laughter too.

Even Allura snorted in a very unladylike manner.

Shiro shot the princess a betrayed look which she met with the picture of innocence. He groaned and ran his mechanical hand through his hair in exasperation. “You’re all horrible,” he muttered.

“You love us,” Hunk chirped.

“Space Dad loves all of us,” Pidge said.

“I…see,” Mrs. Holt said hesitantly. “So, I understand it’s a long story. This place doesn’t close until 2 A.M. We have time.”

“Um, yeah, about that,” Hunk said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but Pidge and I haven’t had coffee for a month, Shiro hasn’t had coffee in over a year, and these guys,” he said, gesturing to Allura, Lance, and Keith, “haven’t had coffee like, ever. So, you know, could you, um…”

“Could you get us coffee?” Pidge asked. “Also, did you bring the tampons I asked for?”

Mrs. Holt blinked. “Oh, yes,” she said, setting her purse on her lap and digging out the requested items. “Here. Now,” she closed her purse and grabbed her daughter’s arm, preventing her from leaping up to make a run for the bathroom, “if I buy you coffee, will I get an explanation?”

“Yes,” Shiro answered honestly. “We’d tell you anyway, but…” He shrugged. “We… _I_ really need a coffee if I’m going to stay up long enough to finish it.”

Mrs. Holt gave the black paladin a look that spoke volumes of what she thought of that statement. Shiro flushed and drooped bashfully. She sighed and pulled out her purse. “Katie, come with me,” she said.

“But I have to put in my-”

“Come with me or no coffee,” her mother said.

Pidge instantly hopped up and followed after her mom. The tampons could wait. She knew better than to cross her mom when she used that tone with her. Janice Holt was a woman who stood by her word. If she said no coffee, she would deliver on that threat without a second thought. Even Shiro knew when to shut up and obey.

Keith sat bolted to the ground with wide eyes and his ears pinned to his head. He shuddered. “What is with you people?” he demanded, looking directly at Hunk and Shiro.

“Um, what do you mean?” Hunk asked, honestly confused.

“Are all of your women alphas?” he said in frustration.

“Not all of them,” Hunk said chuckling.

“Janice is though,” Shiro said, stone-faced. “Take my advice: do _not_ cross her.”

Keith’s ear twitched, then twitched again when Lance deliberately blew on it. The red paladin shook his head and glared at his mate who grinned and did it again, just because he could. Keith flinched back and poked Lance’s damaged eye scale causing him to stiffen.

However, before he could pursue that particular move, the red paladin stiffened. Slowly, he looked up at Allura, who sat in the armchair directly behind him. He stopped flirting.

* * *

 

The balea moved through the water, riding the current at a sedate pace. Schools of aquatic life native to the planet swam with the behemoth of gracefully curved metal without fear. The translucent particle barriers acted as windows to the underwater world of Pollux. Here, it was peaceful, quiet, and calm. Here, only the sound of muffled footsteps echoed through the main floor of the ship.

There weren’t many people aboard this transport ship at the moment, which suited her just fine. She didn’t want the company of people at the moment, no matter what species they were. She wasn’t fit for company. Her mind was the exact opposite of the world on the other side of the particle barriers: a tangled mass of emotion, fear, and doubt that threatened to overwhelm her if she let it. It had already invaded her sleep. What was stopping it from continuing its advance?

A jelly-like creature floated past the barrier in front of her, glowing a soft orange-gold in the water. It was the sole point of light in this deep waterworld, the lights in the ship long having been turned out to simulate night. The stars may not be visible from underwater, but the marglytta swimming in front of her was her star right now.

Its glow was soft but warm and welcoming, despite its deadly disposition. The tentacles trailing behind the gelatinous bulb of a body were delicate, almost lacy in appearance. However, their sting was something no seafarer ever forgot.

Sometimes, she wondered if she could do this. This wasn’t what she had ever planned or intended to do. But here she was, sailing from the floating city of Anahita to the deepwater base Nammu. The balea she currently rode was retrofitted with a particle barrier surrounding its outer hull which helped protect it from the intense pressure of the sea water as the plunged deeper and deeper beneath the ocean’s surface.

There was no real ocean floor on Pollux. Instead, there was a solid core of ice immeasurably far below. But this was no ordinary ice. This ice was not formed by cold temperatures like the glacial north and south poles. This was a special kind of ice formed due to the immense pressure of the water above. When the pressure became too much, it crushed the liquid beneath it into solid ice.

This meant there was no solid ground on all of Pollux. For this reason, engineers designed cities to float on the endless ocean’s surface. Interconnected seascrapers rose approximately ten stories above the water and thirty stories below. Streamlined engines helped keep the floating cities together, although they could not fully prevent the ocean’s natural desire to move and change. Thus, a signal emanated by each city continuously updated other cities, floating islands, and transport ships like the balea she currently rode of their ever drifting locations.

It was something that had become a part of her life and the lives of everyone on Pollux. The planet’s unique existence had become an attraction for many species throughout the Galra Empire seeking a place to relax and escape. The citizens of Pollux had embraced this influx of visitors, but refused to change their way of life to suit them. If anyone wished to come to Pollux, they changed to suit the planet and its people. Never the other way around.

She was proud to call Pollux her home. Its people stood strong, digging their heels in at every attempt to coerce them to change. They moved with the sea, changing with it and it only. She sighed. If only she could find it within herself to return to that state of mind.

“Romelle?”

She stiffened, blinking back to herself. The marglytta had long swam away leaving the balea in nothing but its natural ambient, blue glow. She turned to her guest without fear.

“I am here,” she said.

“What are you doing up?” her cousin asked, walking across the floor towards her. The plants filling the decorative bowl in the center of the floor moved when the air was disturbed by her cousin’s movement. “We still have several tecks left to sail.”

Romelle shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep,” she said simply, facing the barrier once more.

Bandor groaned. “You know you can’t lead us well when you’re tired,” he chided. “Besides, we haven’t finished receiving the latest communiques from our contacts. There’s nothing to listen to or report as of yet.”

“I know,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself in a self-comforting gesture. “I just need to calm down before I face the others. The last message we received was…not what I expected, and I need to think about how we’re going to respond to it.”

Bandor snorted. “I’m still not sure if I believe it myself,” he said, shaking his head with a grin. “Sendak dead? I have a hard time believing it. It’s almost as unbelievable as all the talk about this ‘Voltron’ character,” he said. “Honestly, what kind of name is ‘Voltron,’ anyway? For a secret identity, it’s a bad cover name.”

Romelle chuckled despite herself, knocking her fist against her cousin’s head in a teasing manner. “It is bad,” she admitted. “But I’ve heard worse.”

“Oh yeah?” her cousin asked. “Like what?

“Like Bandor,” she answered with a sly grin.

Bandor gave her a flat stare. “At least my name’s not Romelle,” he said, waving his hand disdainfully. “Too gentle and graceful. I can’t think of anyone who matches that description, can you? I mean really. When have either of us met someone as elegant and genteel as a ‘Romelle’?”

“I will hurt you.”

“You couldn’t if you tried.”

“Why do I tolerate you?”

“Because I’m your cousin.”

“Not good enough.”

“Because I’m an excellent friend and confidant.”

Romelle snorted, sticking her tongue out at him. “You think too highly if yourself.”

“You’re right, I do,” Bandor said dramatically. “I confess,” he said, placing a hand over his heart in a theatrical display or remorse, “I do indeed think too highly of myself. My ego soars above the oceans of Pollux like a sailfin. It is a pity that I cannot soar higher.” He fought a smile when Romelle’s laughter filled his ears. “At least, I can take heart knowing that my ego doesn’t have the power to sink a ship from its moorings, like another I know. What was that name again? Ah yes. Romelle.”

“I will hurt you!” Romelle shrieked, playfully pouncing on her cousin and throttling him. She was no match for him in a battle of strength, but who said they were fighting over anything serious? Tickles worked as perfect offensive weapons after all.

“Gah! Quiznak! I surrender!” Bandor shouted. “Romelle, stop! I surrender!”

Satisfied with her victory, Romelle tossed her ash blonde hair over her shoulder and huffed. “Admit it, I see,” she said. “I accept.”

Bandor pushed her off of him and stood, staggering as he struggled to catch his breath. “I am going to bed,” he said. “Some of us have an ego to nurse after all. Others, like me, just really like to sleep." He winked at her and then ran, his cousin hot on his heels hollering at him between laughing.

He may have had some trouble falling asleep later on, but he didn’t regret it. He’d gotten a smile out of his cousin. It hadn’t been as easy to come by since her stint under Lotor’s care. At least she was free and back on Pollux where she belonged. The rebellion had taken a beating after losing her. Romelle was their pinnacle of hope for the rebellion.

She’d been the one to lead most of the charges and infiltrations. When she had been captured, the rebellion’s morale had dropped. It had taken the help of one of their deep cover operatives for Bandor to get Romelle out.

Hopefully, now that their little rebellion was aware of her return, they would rally behind Romelle once more and begin their assault. It had taken years to get where they are now. The whispers of Voltron were the opportunity they’d been waiting for. Who were they to refuse such a well-timed gift?


	16. Larimar: confidence builder, helps reduce depression, enhances psychic abilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rover saves Coran yet again, Pidge makes dad jokes, and Allura gets some uneasy news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I may not be able to update tomorrow because I have to finish working on a group project that's due this Thursday and it's a little intimidating. I'll try, just no guarantees. Sorry. In the meantime, I hop you enjoy this. I've given it a rough edit as usual, but I'll look it over more seriously tomorrow.

When Coran opened his eyes again, he was warmer and his limbs were responding properly to his mental commands once more. A familiar beep caught his attention and he sat up carefully, noticing the small hoverbot sitting on his bed watching him through its camera eye. He vaguely remembered his first few tecks out of the cryopod. He’d been disoriented and so cold his body could barely stop shaking. The time curled up in his bed had warmed him, but it hadn’t calmed his nerves.

He placed a hand on Rover’s pointed casing and patted it gently. “Thank you, dear friend,” he said. “That was decidedly…most uncomfortable.”

Rover hopped across the bedding and rocked side to side, beeping what sounded like a question.

Yes,” Coran said nodding. “I’m feeling much better now. Thank you. Although,” he said, sliding his feet out from under the covers and standing with care, “I think you and I should look into that little incident, hm? I don’t think that was normal.”

Rover beeped and lifted up from the bedspread to hover by the Altean advisor’s ear. It nudged Coran slightly in an effort to get his attention. Curious, the advisor looked at the hoverbot and waited for it to communicate what it wanted. Strangely, Rover just kept nudging Coran forward, towards the hallway.

“Yes, yes,” Coran said. “I’m going. I’m going.”

“When he started walking down the hallway to the left, Rover beeped, flew around him, and bumped him in the chest.

“My goodness.”

Rover pushed harder against the advisor’s body until Coran took the hint and began walking the other way. Only then did it stop pushing and fly around so it moved in front of Coran, guiding the way.

“Where are we going, Rover?” Coran asked. “Is there something you want to show me? Can it wait? I have to check on the Castle’s systems for any flaws or-”

Rover beeped and flashed, turning and flying up into Coran’s face.

“Oh, I see,” Coran said, smiling awkwardly. “Carry on then.”

Bobbing as if in a mimicry of a nod, Rover spun around and continued to guide Coran down the hall to the lift. Once inside, Rover punched its body into one of the command buttons, causing the lift to move slowly downwards. Coran was burning with curiosity, but considering the last time he’d question’s the hoverbot’s intentions, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

When he stepped out of the lift, he was surprised to see he was in the hangar floor. The hallway in front of him, fanned out around the lift allowing access to each of the Voltron Lions’ hangar bays.

“What are we doing here?” he muttered absently.

Rover darted ahead of Coran, stopping and waiting by the Green Lion’s hangar for Coran to join it. Then it opened the door and flew inside. The hangar floor was mostly bare, except for a few scattered tools and computers in a shallow alcove to the left of the towering Green Lion. Pidge had clearly been at work on something.

He chuckled to himself in fond amusement before his eye caught sight of something that drained all color from his face. The Galra crystal, in all its oppressive purple magnificence, was sitting by Pidge’s work station with sensors attaching it to the green paladin’s equipment. Pidge must have been studying it, which was perfectly understandable and worth it.

But considering his recent, erm, misadventure with the healing pod that abruptly reverted to its cryogenic programming without the authenticated approval of Coran, the advisor was disconcerted. The crystal pulsed like a perverted heartbeat of violet light. It brought back memories Coran knew he would never truly be able to forget. Which brought to mind…

“Rover,” he said. “Is Sendak still in his prison pod?” The hoverbot turned side to side in a semblance of a negative response and Coran hummed. “Help me unplug that Galra crystal from the Castle and we’ll go check. We can take a look at the memory core as well. Hopefully, the extraction will have made some progress.”

Without waiting for a response, Coran approached the Galra crystal and removed the sensors reached out to remove the sensors from its surface. He never made it close enough. He had a moment to wonder why he was suddenly moving upwards when he realized to his horror that he was weightless.

He cried out in shock and flailed, trying to grab something to anchor him to the floor.

“No,” Coran gasped. “The artificial gravity must have been turned off. But how…”

He almost reached Pidge’s floating desk. His fingertip touched the edge of the furniture which, unfortunately, knocked it away from him.

“Gah! Come back here this instant,” he commanded, wriggling his fingers desperately for the desk that continued to spin lazily out of his reach.

Rover flashed, then flew up through the floating items and bumped into Coran’s back, sending him sailing through the air towards the desk. He missed the desk, but managed to grab a hold of the pulsing Galra crystal.

“Thank you friend,” Coran said. “Now you just wait right then while I pull these sensors off.”

The advisor began systematically peeling off the sticky sensors Pidge had attached to the Galra crystal. There were quite a few of them, so it took a teck or two. He was almost done when he heard the distinct hissing sound of a Castle door sliding open. An instant later, he was plummeting to the ground landing on his hands and knees, accompanied by the sound of something shattering.

Coran cried out and cradled his hand close to his chest, gripping his injured left thumb tightly. He looked up to see the purple crystal broken in several huge chunks surrounded by thousands of smaller shards scattered across the floor as far as the hanger door. When he followed the trail of shards, Coran noticed Rover bouncing happily by the access panel for the door.

The hoverbot must have determined the loss of gravity had been limited to this room. If that was true, then opening the door to the hallway and lift beyond would equalize the gravity in this room thus returning it to normal.

“Good job,” he said proudly, smiling at the hoverbot while still clutching his aching thumb. He had most likely jammed it. He would need to bind it soon to keep it from swelling, but first he needed to determine what by the Lions was going on with this ship.

He pulled off the last couple sensors from the broken crystal just in case before standing and joining the hoverbot by the doorway. “Alright, Rover. Where to now?” he asked.

* * *

 

Shiro winced, honestly afraid of what Janice Holt would think of all of this. They’d sprung their story on her without really giving her a chance to process the news that her daughter was alive, Shiro was alive, and her husband and son were alive but lost, before filling her in on the whole alien dark elf-bat crossbreed things. Not to mention the giant robotic Lions were something even Team Voltron had trouble comprehending at times. It did all sound rather fantastic when he sat down and actually thought about. Which was why he preferred not to think about it. It made his head hurt too much.

Mrs. Holt sighed long and slow through her nose, eyeing the group with eyes that were hard to read. “Lions?” she said, her tone speaking volumes of how much credibility she was putting in their story.

Shiro groaned and let his shoulders slump, hunching over his cup of steaming hot coffee. “Look, I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true,” he said.

“No actually, that makes sense.”

“I know, man,” Hunk agreed wearily. “Lions don’t just fly- wait, what? You believe us?” he gasped.

“I saw the video of a yellow lion flying in the sky,” Mrs. Holt said, nodding. “It’s gone viral, or so I’m told. The story has been all over the news since it broke.”

“Oh- oh no,” Hunk said. “How did the news know about that? We were just off of Garrison property when we found the Yellow Lion,” he said, turning to Shiro as if he knew the answer.

Shiro just shrugged helplessly. “Don’t look at me,” he said. “I’ve been out of the loop for over a year.”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “Forgot about that.”

“The Galaxy Garrison is currently being investigated for concealing potentially dangerous information, conspiracy to kidnapping-”

“Kidnapping?” Pidge squawked in disbelief.

“-as well as deliberately defrauding the government and its civilian financial supporters,” Mrs. Holt finished. “Commander Iverson was the one who brought the information to light.”

Iverson?” Hunk gasped.

“That jerk?” Pidge said. “He always acted like he had a stick up his ass.”

“Katie, watch your language,” Pidge’s mother said sternly.

Shiro had to fight to hold back his laughter, glancing up at Allura sitting across from him. The princess was smiling proudly at Mrs. Holt with a devious twinkle in her eye. “Glad to know someone has a level of decorum here,” she said.

“Oh don’t act all high and mighty, princess,” Pidge snapped, crossing her arms in a huff. “You curse often enough.”

“Only when I’m upset or scolding my brother,” Allura said, brushing several stark white strands of hair over her shoulder primly.

“Or when you're mad that Keith went and fucked hi-”

“Katie Ann Holt,” Janice said, not noticing the burning blush on Lance’s face. “I know I taught you better than this. Unless you want your computer allowances to continue, you will watch your language.”

Hunk snickered. “You have computer allowances?” he asked between gasping for breath.

“I was in the middle of building a computer when…” Her brown eyes flitted to Shiro briefly. You know,” she finished lamely.

Shiro frowned and nodded sadly.

“On that note,” the prince said, pushing himself up from the floor. “Allura, if I could have a word.”

The princess furrowed her brow in bewilderment but nodded and followed nonetheless. Keith didn’t get up, but watched them go, his ears twitching as they struggled to pick up what was undoubtedly being said.

“How are you doing that?”

“Keith,” Shiro said, jolting the red paladin back to the present. When the halfbreed’s unusual eyes focused on him, the black paladin nodded to Mrs. Holt. “She asked you a question,” he said.

Eyeing his leader warily, Keith sighed and turned his attention to Pidge’s mother, waiting for her to speak.

“How are you doing that?” Mrs. Holt asked, gesturing to something above her head.

Shiro blinked in surprise and chuckled.

“Doing what?” Keith asked in confusion.

“Moving your ears.”

Keith made a face. “By thinking about it,” he said.

“They’re real,” Hunk said, grinning. “All Galra have them.”

“Most do,” Keith corrected. “The reptilian subspecies don’t have them. They have bony protrusions that look that ears but aren’t.”

“Reptilian? You mean like Haxus?” Pidge hissed angrily.

“Exactly,” Keith said nodding. “Their ears are holes directly beneath the visible bone.”

“You’re Galra?” Mrs. Holt asked

“Halfbreed actually,” Shiro said, speaking up in the red paladin’s defense. “He’s a member of Team Voltron. He’s helped us on numerous occasions.”

“So you’re an alien?”

Keith tensed. “Well,” he said slowly, “technically you all are the aliens to me.”

“And those two?” Mrs. Holt said, nodding to where Lance and Allura sat at one of the tables far enough away to speak privately. “Are they…aliens as well?”

“Yes,” Shiro said. “They’re Altean. It was their people who originally built Voltron.”

“The flying Lions?” Janice said, obviously doing her best to understand.

“Right,” Shiro said. “We each pilot one of the Lions. I pilot the Black Lion, Hunk pilots the Yellow Lion, which is probably the one you saw in that video, Pidge pilots the Green Lion, Keith pilots the Red Lion, and Lance,” he pointed to the prince, “pilots the Blue Lion.”

“What about Allura?”

“She pilots the Castleship and controls the weapons,” Pidge said proudly. “She can also open wormholes.”

Mrs. Holt took a deep breath. “I am trying to believe you,” she said. “I promise, I’m trying. But this is all,” he winced, “a bit far-fetched.”

‘Yeah,” Pidge said, a sly grin working its way across her face. “You could almost say it’s _stellar_.”

Shiro groaned but Hunk cackled. “Ooh, good one, Pidge,” he said proudly.

Keith just looked between the Humans in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

* * *

 

“I don’t like it,” Allura said firmly.

“You don’t have to,” Lance said. “A trade is a trade. You know that.”

“But this is a side matter,” she insisted. “Fighting Zarkon and the Galra Empire has to take precedence over a simple trade.”

“Maybe,” Lance said, nodding in acknowledgement. “But they made a promise to Keith that they are taking quite a few risks to uphold. They have integrity.”

“Except when they kidnapped me and Shiro,” the princess said ruefully.

Lance slumped. “Yes, except that,” he admitted reluctantly. “But that aside, they are still my spies now. They’re helping me as well as Keith. The least I can do is meet them for something minor like this.”

“You and I both know this won’t be just a minor thing,” Allura said. “Why would they ask you to come in person anyway?”

Lance sighed. “I don’t know,” he said. “Whatever Keith asked for is apparently considered dangerous by some which is making it hard for Nyma and Rolo to get their hands on it.”

“And they want you to confirm that it’s not toxic,” Allura said. “That just reeks of suspicious activity.”

“Technically, we’re committing treason simply by existing,” Lance said.  “Why not add something else to our ever-growing list of offenses?”

Allura huffed a laugh and nodded. “I’ll give you that,” she said. “Alright. You and Keith can go. But,” she said, holding up a finger and schooling her expression to something Lance associated more with his mother then his sister, “I expect regular updates. Also, if you even think there’s danger, I want you to get out of there. Voltron and fighting the Galra have to be our priority. Everything else needs to be set aside.”

I can’t do that,” Lance said honestly. “And neither can you. I’ve seen you watching him, don’t bother denying it. You know he looks at you the same way.”

“We’re not talking about this,” Allura said in a warning tone.

“Then when are you going to talk about it?” Lance demanded, leaning forward over the small table so he didn’t have to raise his voice. “We could literally die any day. Why leave something like that to chance?”

“Because we’re going to die anyway.”

“Of course we’re going to die,” Lance hissed. “Everything dies. That’s the way of things. That doesn’t stop the majority of the universe. Why does it stop you?”

“Lance,” the princess snapped. “Enough.”

Reluctantly, Lance retreated. “This isn’t over,” he said. “I’m sick and tired of watching you wallow. But if that’s what you want to do, then far be it from me to stop you.”

“We should ask Coran to check on Sendak’s memory core,” Allura said, abruptly changing the subject.

The prince narrowed his eyes in cold glare. “Fine,” he said. “Change the subject. But you aren’t getting out of this talk, sister.”

“I’ll have Coran look into it,” Allura said, ignoring her brother’s words. “We’ll look through what we get and see if there’s anything we can investigate while you and Keith head to Meserie.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Alright,” he said. “You, Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge take care of that while Keith and I meet with Nyma and Rolo. That’ll take care of two things at once. _If_ anything can be recovered from that quiznak’s mind in the first place. There may not be anything useful.”

“Well let’s hope that’s not the case.” The princess looked back at her team and sighed. “I’m worried about how you and Shiro are handling this. This isn’t the most common form of interrogation.”

“Or the most efficient,” Lance agreed with a wince. He dropped his gaze in discomfort. “Honestly, sister, I was hoping you had just let him die when Keith stabbed him.”

Allura bit her lip. “I wanted him to stay dead,” she said. “But we need information.”

“That we could just as easily have been retrieved through spies and captured Galra drones,” Lance said.

“I know I may not have made the best decision,” she admitted. “But I needed information and he was the best available source at the time.”

“Keith stabbed him,” Lance said, staring at his sister in disbelief. “She should have died.”

“He didn’t deserve to die like that,” Allura hissed viciously, startling her brother with the intensity of her anger. “He deserved to have his unfeeling heart ripped from his chest and forced down his throat. Keith was too merciful. I want him to suffer. I want him to know that my brother, my paladins, my team, my _family_ is off limits.”

Lance blinked. Allura met both his biological and mechanical eye boldly. She stood from her chair and walked around the table to sit next to her brother. “We’ve lost our family, our home, our way of life,” she said gently, reaching up to press her thumb against Lance’s left eye scale. “Don’t make me lose you too.”

She pressed her other thumb against Lance’s damaged eye scale and touched her forehead to his. He mirrored her gesture and closed his eyes, allowing himself to feel his sister’s emotions. They rippled just beneath his senses like a living, breathing thing that promised him all of her secrets if he just reached out and touched.

But there was something else as well, something else that rippled and flowed. It was there, just at the edge of his senses. He could almost see it.

Then Allura was pulling away from him and he snapped back to himself blinking stupidly. Allura was holding a small communicator to her ear and listening to it closely. Whatever she heard made her give a small gasp of surprise. She lifted her gaze to Lance and said something that filled her brother with grim trepidation.

“It’s Coran. Sendak’s memory core is almost full.”


	17. Jade: reduces negativity, will bring wisdom, stone of fidelity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance has a few words with Shiro and Keith, not all good ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** It was brought to my attention that Mr. Holt actually has a name: Samuel. Somehow I missed that and gave him the name "Peter." I've corrected that and Mr. Holt will be "Samuel" from here on out. If any of y'all notice mistakes like that, let me know. If I've done it deliberately, I'll let you know. But if it was an accident, I can correct it. As usual, I've given this a rough one-over and will correct it more seriously tomorrow.
> 
> Also, as a friendly FYI, the darkness begins to peak out from behind the curtain of fluff in this chapter.

Shiro held his fresh cup of steaming hot, black coffee close to his face and just stared at it. His first cup he’d guzzled pretty quickly during their talk with Mrs. Holt. But this one he planned to savor for as long as he could. They planned on stocking up on coffee, but even stocks ran out eventually and who knew when they’d be able to come back to Earth for more coffee. He had to treasure what he had while he had it and the memory of it after it was gone.

He may or may not have whimpered at that particularly depressing thought. He never wanted coffee to be gone.

“You okay there, Shiro?” Hunk asked, patting the black paladin’s back in friendly concern.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “I just…” He shrugged and smiled ruefully. “I guess I’m just a bit homesick.”

Hunk smiled. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” he said. “I’ve only been in space for a month and already Earth feels weird. I’ve gotten used to the feeling of being in a space ship with gravity that’s weaker than Earth’s and slightly thinner air. Not to mention the green food goo and the whole Voltron Lions thing and all that.”

Both paladins chuckled.

“Now that I’m back here, though,” Hunk continued softly, looking around at the people in the café with them. “I feel like I’m out of place. That I don’t really belong here anymore, no matter how badly I want to.”

Shiro sighed, staring down at his coffee in grim understanding. “I…” He paused to gather his thoughts. “I’d like to grab a few things from Janice’s place,” he said slowly. “A few sets of clothes, personal items, and…” he flushed, “my parents’ shrine.”

Hunk’s smile faded. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I… I mean I can’t imagine what that feels like. Both of my parents are alive and well last time I checked. I’ll know for sure when I try to call them on the Internet tomorrow.”

Shiro laughed. “I hope they’re still alive and well,” he said, smiling fondly at his younger friend. He winced when the yellow paladin wilted. “Hey, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’ve had a few years to recover.”

“I don’t know if anyone ever recovers from a loss like that though,” Hunk said. “I think we just learn to adapt to our surroundings much easier and quicker than we give ourselves credit for.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Shiro said, taking a huge gulp of his still burning hot coffee, appreciating the burn on the back of his throat.

Hunk let out a jolly belly laugh at his friend which echoed in the café, attracting a plethora of looks. Some of the people only glanced at him briefly before returning to their tasks. But a couple others had to do double-takes. One person held up a phone and went to snap a picture when someone walked in front of her. She grumbled until she looked up from her phone to see who was blocking her view. Then she decided a video was a better idea.

“Coran contacted us,” Allura said, cutting off Hunk’s laughter and drawing the attention of the group. Her dark face was drawn with worry as she lifted her gaze from the small communicator in her hand to her paladins. “He says Sendak’s memory core is almost full.”

Her gaze moved to Shiro, who immediately sat bolt-upright at the news. “Let me talk to him,” he said, standing. “Please, I know I can get to him.”

The princess grimaced but nodded reluctantly. “Alright,” she said. “Lance will be taking me and Shiro back to the Castle. Hunk, Pidge, feel free to stay and take care of anything you need to,” she said gently. “Lance will be coming back to join you as soon as Shiro and I are settled.”

“I’m going with you,” Keith said, standing and looking directly at Lance.

“No, Keith,” Allura said. “I need you to stay with Hunk and Pidge.”

“We don’t need a babysitter,” Pidge groused.

“I know,” the princess said, trying to placate the group. “That’s not what I meant. I want Keith to-”

“It’s okay. I’ll stay,” Lance said, startling his sister who stared at him with wide eyes. “Keith can fly you two to the Castle and back while I stay with Pidge and Hunk.” He smiled deviously. “Unless you don’t trust me, sister dearest.”

“Not as far as I can throw you,” Allura said, giving her brother a flat stare.

The prince snickered. “Then I suppose a good space hop will help with your trust issues,” he said with a grin. “But before you go, Shiro, a word?”

Allura’s stare became a glare. “Lance,” she said warning.

“Nothing dire, sister. Nothing dire,” he said, waving Allura’s concern aside. “I just have a few questions for him, is all. Shiro,” he said, “come with me.”

Shiro glanced between the sibling in suspicion before nodding and following Lance down the café hall towards the exit.

“Wait,” Keith said loudly, chasing after the prince. “When will you be ready to leave?”

“When Allura is,” Lance said. His eyes narrowed. “Why? Do you need something?”

“I need to have a word with you before we leave,” he said.

Lance nodded. “Alright.” Then he grinned and flicked one of Keith’s ears, earning him a warning growl that did the exact opposite of intimidate him. He winked and tugged Shiro after him, smirking at the black paladin’s blush.

They never noticed the girl quickly lower her phone and type something on it before setting it down on the table and whisper to her companions in excited tones.

* * *

 

“What did you want, Lance?” Shiro asked when they stepped out of the warm and welcoming café into the brisk night.

Lance ignored him, hopping up the steps to the café’s deck by the parking lot. He took a seat at one of the wrought iron tables and waited for Shiro to join him. When the black paladin finally sat down in front of him, Lance crossed his arms and said, “You like my sister.”

Shiro blinked in surprise, a brilliant flush coloring his cheeks a deep crimson that rivaled the Red Lion’s body. “I…yes,” he said, running a hand through his hair nervously. “She’s a,” he cleared his through awkwardly, “um, a fine princess.”

Lance lifted one of his eyebrows all the way to his hairline. “And?” he asked.

The black paladin’s blush darkened further and he ducked his head. “And she’s pretty.”

“That’s all you can do?” Lance said in growing annoyance.

Shiro took a deep breath and blew it out in one long sigh. “I think she’s the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen,” he said, avoiding the prince’s eyes. “She’s smart, clever, strong, independent, wise, a great leader, and just…” He spread his hands as if to show his inability to express his feelings. “She’s just…amazing.”

“So you like her,” Lance said, his lips quirking upwards at the corners.

“Yes,” Shiro said, finally meeting the prince’s gaze. “Yes, I do.”

“Good,” Lance said, startling the black paladin, “because she likes you too, and quite frankly I’m tired of this careful dancing around the subject the two of you have been doing. It’s partially a product of her being a diplomat and taking care not to tread of your people’s culture and traditions and partially personal reasons.”

Lance’s gaze skipped to the side nervously which Shiro noticed, raising several questions.

“Reasons that you agree with?” he asked boldly. “Or reasons you share?”

The prince hesitated. “Reasons I share,” he said. "But I can’t tell you what they are because I promised Allura I wouldn’t tell and I won’t break that oath.”

Shiro nodded. “Alright, then I won’t press,” he said. “But I have to ask, was it something I did or said?”

“No,” Lance said, shaking his head. “It has very little to do with you. It only involves you indirectly simply because she likes you.”

Shiro leaned back in his chair in acquiescence. “Okay,” he said. “So you’re basically giving me the shovel talk.”

Lance blinked in confusion. “The what?”

“The shovel talk,” Shiro said, smiling. “It’s what we call that talk friends or relatives of someone give that person’s potential partner. It usually involves something along the lines of ‘Hurt so-and-so and I’ll make you dig your own grave,’ or something like that.”

Lance threw his head back and laughed. “No, I’m not doing that,” he said. “If I thought you hurt Allura, I wouldn’t bury you.”

“Oh that’s-”

“I’d _space_ you. No mess to deal with,” Lance finished with a wink.

“Oh.”

“That said,” Lance leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table and looking Shiro directly in the eye, “watch my sister, please.”

“I will,” Shiro promised. “I’ll protect her with my life.”

“Thank you, but that’s not what I meant,” Lance said seriously, shaking his head. “I mean _watch_ her. Talk to her, notice her, court her. If you court her she’ll have no choice but to acknowledge you as a potential life partner.”

Shiro blushed again and rubbed the back of his neck. “She won’t mind?” he asked. “I don’t want to force her hand or anything.”

Lance shook his head. “You won’t be,” he assured his friend. “If anything, you’re telling her you’re an option. It’s up to her to choose you or not.”

Shiro nodded. “Thank you,” he said after a minute. “I needed to know that.”

“Not a problem,” Lance said. “There was another reason why I brought you out here, actually.” Shiro tilted his head curiously and Lance thought carefully about his next words. “I think something is wrong with the ship,” he said finally. “Coran wasn’t specific in his message, but he mentioned a few…malfunctions that have been causing him some trouble.”

“What kind of malfunctions?” Shiro asked suspiciously.

“Coran didn’t say, but he sounded...” he tilted his head thoughtfully, “winded, shall we say.”

“I see.” Shiro narrowed his eyes and rubbing his chin. “I’ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Do you think the malfunctions are malicious?”

“I’m not sure, and neither is Allura,” Lance said. “But S-Sendak did have his crystal plugged into the Castle’s systems for a good while before Hunk and Coran were able to replace it with a pure Balmeran crystal.”

“Would that affect anything?”

Lance nodded, absently trailing a finger along his scar. “You’re aware the Balmeran crystals are solidified quintessence from the Balmera,” he said, waiting for Shiro to nod before continuing. “The Castle has quintessence infused in it as well. It’s not enough to develop a consciousness per se, but it is sentient in the most basic sense. It’s also a computer. What happens to a computer or a life form when a malicious parasite is introduced to it?”

“It gets sick,” Shiro said darkly. “We call those viruses. A computer virus can do anything from be annoying to completely destroy the device. A biological virus can do much the same.”

Lance nodded. “The Galra crystal is also solidified quintessence from a Balmera, but its been,” he shuddered, “perverted somehow. I’m not exactly sure how and I’m not sure I want to know, but that’s essentially what makes the Galra crystal different from our current crystal even if they’re both originally from the same creature.”

“And you think the Galra crystal’s quintessence is acting as a virus infecting the Castle’s computer systems,” Shiro said.

“That’s what Allura thinks, yes,” Lance said. “And I agree, it makes sense. But the Castle’s systems should be able to quarantine the foreign quintessence and purge it over time.”

“But that isn’t what’s happening here.”

“No,” Lance said, shaking his head. His biological eye sparkled with worry.

“If you can have Coran run a scan on the Castle’s computer systems and have Keith bring me the results so I can look through them, that would be very helpful,” Lance said.

Shiro nodded. “I can do that.”

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem,” Shiro said.

Lance smiled gratefully before being distracted by the café door opening. Shiro turned, following the prince’s gaze and bit back a smile when he saw Keith standing there.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” he said, politely standing and excusing himself.

Lance nodded to him with a brief smile before following Keith with his eyes. Shiro quickly made his way down the deck steps, patting the red paladin on the shoulder with an encouraging smile as he went, and walked back inside to find Allura and the others.

* * *

 

“Is something wrong?” Lance asked.

“I was going to ask you that,” Keithek said, taking the seat next to his mate rather than the one across the table that Shiro had vacated. “Why are you and Allura being so secretive?”

“Secretive?” Lance asked, his forehead creasing in confusion. “I don’t understand. We’re not trying to be secretive.”

“Something is bothering you,” Keithek said firmly. “I can practically smell it on you. What is it?”

The prince sighed. “Nothing, I promise,” he said.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying,” Lance said, his tone curt in warning. “We’ve received some disturbing news that neither of us know what to make of yet,” he admitted. “There was no reason to tell you because it doesn’t involve you.”

“But it does,” Keithek argued, placing his hand possessively on his mate’s thigh and leaning close. “It involves my mate, therefore it involves me. It’s my job to protect you. Let me do my job.”

“I don’t need protecting, Keith,” Lance said, rolling his eyes. He stiffened when Keithek gripped his chin and turned his head so he had no choice but to look the halfbreed in the eye. “Keith…” he said, instinctively leaning away from his mate.

Keithek said nothing. Instead he stared hard at Lance, reading the emotions flickering across his biological eye, smelling the mixture of scents coming off the Altean in wafts, and listening to Lance’s breathing patterns.

“What’s bothering you?” he demanded, his ears erect and facing forward to catch every nuance in his mate’s voice. “Tell me.”

Lance pressed his lips together. “Something’s wrong with the Castle, I think,” he said reluctantly. “It’s probably not serious, but it was noticeable enough for Coran to mention it. I’ve asked Shiro to have you bring the ship’s diagnostic results to me when you return. Allura and Coran can work on the problem from there while I study it remotely.”

Keithek nodded but did not release his grip. “That’s not the problem,” he said firmly. “There’s something else bothering you.”

He leaned forward and pressed his nose in his mate’s hair by the dark pointed ear closest to him. Lance sighed and closed his eyes, but otherwise remained still.

“You’re stressed about something,” Keith whispered by Lance’s ear. “Tell me what it is.”

He let his fingers ease their grip and slide down the other side of his mate’s throat to settle on his Mark, massaging the spot gently.

“Please,” Lance whispered. Keithek’s ear twitched when his mate’s hot breath brushed it. “It’s nothing, I promise.”

“It may be nothing,” Keithek said softly, pressing his lips to his mate’s ear, brushing the skin with every word. “But it’s still bothering you.” He nuzzled the pointed ear, appreciating the shudder it caused. “Tell me.”

He felt his fingers move when Lance swallowed.

“It…” Lance said, stopping abruptly. After a teck, the prince sighed. “I’ll tell you when you come back from the Castle,” he said. “Give me that.”

“Alright,” Keithek said, placing a kiss to the inner curve of his mate’s ear before leaning back. “I’ll wait until then. But only if you promise to tell me.”

Lance flushed indignantly. “Are you saying you don’t trust me?” he asked.

“No,” Keithek said. “I’m saying I expect you to tell me _everything_ then, not just a truncated version.”

Lance paled and looked away. He pushed his chair back and stood. “I’ll think about it,” he said, stepping around Keithek towards the deck steps.

Keithek held out an arm, catching Lance by the waist and yanking him down into his lap, startling a yelp from his mate. Lance landed on the red paladin’s lap in an inelegant sprawl. Before he could say anything, Keithek gripped his chin and pulled him up into a kiss effectively silencing him.

Keithek pushed his tongue into Lance’s cool mouth, leaning down until his mate’s head rested against the table’s edge. He slipped one hand around Lance’s back and up his spine to gently grip his mate’s delicate neck, lifting it slightly so the edge of the table didn’t dig into it. He received no resistance from Lance to the abrupt change in position. In fact, the prince seemed to enjoy the mood shift, humming into the kiss and teasing Keithek’s tongue with his own.

Keithek's pride swelled in his chest when he heard the hum, rubbing the back of Lance’s neck gently as a reward. Lance’s left hand slid around Keithek’s back, pausing in over the red paladin’s spine between the shoulder blades and flattened, pressing the halfbreed closer. The chill of his mate’s hand seeped through Keithek’s clothes like water on sand. Keithek willingly leaned closer just as Lance arched his chest up and tucked his legs a bit so he could have more leverage in the kiss.

“Get a room!”

Lance broke the kiss and let his head fall back in laughter, despite the blush on Keithek’s face. “If you really want us to get a room,” Lance said, rolling his head so he could see the person who called them out, “then why are you looking? Unless you want to join us?” he asked with a teasing wink.

Keithek growled, his ears folding back against his head, and jerked Lance upright. The motion tossed the prince against Keithek’s chest, something the prince found amusing if the sly grin was any indication. Lance leaned his head forward, sighing as he did so, and nuzzled Keithek’s cheek fondly.

“Does it make you jealous?” he asked. “Me flirting with other people.”

“You’re mine,” Keithek hissed, feeling his mate’s unnaturally cool skin brush his. He lifted his left hand and held Lance’s neck in a vice-like grip, preventing him from pulling away. “I don’t share.”

Lance laughed breathlessly. “No, I don’t suppose you do,” he said, an audible smile in his voice. “Too bad I enjoy your reactions too much to stop,” he added, flicking his tongue out to touch Keithek’s cheek.

The halfbreed stiffened and stared hungrily at the captive Altean in his arms. “There are ways to deal with rebellious mates,” he said, his eyes never breaking from Lance’s bionic and mechanic eyes.

“Really?” Lance asked. “Like what?”

Keith leaned his head close so his lips brushed tantalizingly against his mate’s. “Most involve restraints,” he said, enjoying the way Lance’s lips parted at his words. “Both physical and verbal.” Lance’s breath fluttered. “Never to harm,” Keithek said, “just to enhance. Although,” he drew the index finger of his free hand along Lance’s jawline, “I wouldn’t mind seeing you on your back beneath me, with your wrists bound above your head, and this,” he cupped Lance’s penis, causing his mate’s entire body to jolt, “in my mouth as I work you to completion.”

He knew the instant something was wrong. The scent he’d been enjoying abruptly soured into something else, something more like fear. He felt Lance’s pulse stutter then slow down from the heightened state of excitement. The coolness of the prince’s skin that Keithek had been enjoying suddenly became icy to the touch and the light of desire in his mate’s eye died.

Lance shifted, kicking his legs out of Keithek’s lap and stood, running his hands through his hair attempting to look presentable. Keithek remained seated, still trying to process what just happened.

“I’m sorry,” he said, lifting his gaze to his mate who avoided it. “Lance. Lance,” he said again, standing and reaching for his mate’s wrist.

Lance shook his wrist free. “I’ll see you when you get back,” he said. “I’ll go inform Allura you’re ready to go.”

“Wait,” Keithek said, following his mate down the steps. He moved so he stood between the prince and the café door. “Wait. Tell me what I did that bothered you.”

“It’s nothing you did.”

“Don’t lie.”

The spark returned to Lance’s eye, but this was not from desire. It was from carefully contained fury. “I have never lied to you, nor am I lying now,” he said in a cold tone. “I do not lie.”

“Then tell me what I did that offended you,” Keithek said. “Whatever it was, I need to know so I don’t do it again.”

“It wasn’t anything you did,” Lance said again. “Now stop asking and let me by.” He stepped to the left but was Keithek moved with him. He moved right and again Keithek mirrored him. “Do not make me force you to move,” he warned.

“If it wasn’t something I did, then why won’t you tell me what’s bothering you?” Keithek said in exasperation.

“Because there’s nothing you can do about it!” the prince hissed. “It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. It’s a part of my nature. It cannot be changed and you need to stop asking.”

“If I can’t fix it or change it, then tell me what I can do to alleviate,” Keithek demanded.

“You’re not listening,” Lance said. “There is nothing you can do so stop asking.”

“Why won’t you tell-”

“I’m _sterile!”_ Lance snapped furiously. “I’ve never come for you and I never will. I can't even feel arousal. It’s nothing against you, I’m simply physically incapable of it. Nothing you say or do can ever fix that. The one thing that would have worked is extinct and that’s that. I’ve accepted this, I’ve come to terms with it. Doesn’t mean I like -in fact, I _hate_ it- but there’s nothing I can do about it. So I deal with it.”

Lance was gasping when he was done and the telltale shine of tears brimmed the prince’s eyes. “Now,” Lance said in a cold voice that had lost its power, “for the love of the Lions, move.”

Keithek couldn’t move. He was stunned still by his mate’s words, so Lance stepped around him and walked into the café without a backwards glance. Keithek didn’t try to stop him.

He just stood where Lance had left him while his mind struggled to figure out what to do with this revelation. He was still mulling over it when he left with Shiro and Allura in the pod. He didn’t realize until they were halfway back to the Castle that he never said goodbye to Lance.


	18. Agate: helps accept circumstances, powerful emotional healer, discerns the truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance may or may not have propositioned Nyma, Allura smacks Keith over the head, and Keith learns something about the princess that both answers and creates more questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** With this chapter, I am done with NaNoWriMo, but nowhere near done with this story. Fear not readers, there is so much more to go. The darkness as only just begun to creep back into our beloved characters' lives. I couldn't possibly stop without letting it drown them all. I still have so much plot to dish out, Langst to enjoy, and torture to inflict. It has only just begun to get fun.  >)

Rolo was busy stocking the shelves of their open-air shop. The particle barrier had done its job; nothing was missing. He marked the exact number of Polluxian sailfin bone fans before moving to their collection of spare parts. These he catalogued quickly before saving the results and returning his tablet to the yurt when it would be safe for the time being.

When he came back out, Nyma was already in the middle of working a potential customer towards a trade, so he stood by the yurt and waited for the next customer. No trader would steal another trader’s customer. There were some things that just demanded a little respect for a fellow trader. It was part of the unofficial codes every legitimate trader adhered to.

So when Nyma whistled to catch his attention, he was more than a little startled. He pulled a twig out of his pocket and stuck it in his mouth as he stepped up onto the wooden platform that served as their shop.

“What d’you need?” he asked smiling.

Nyma looked very put out. She practically hissed in annoyance when she spoke. “I need you to take over from here.”

Rolo caught the twig before it tumbled out of his open mouth. “Um, sure,” he said, recovering quickly. “You okay?”

Nyma rolled her eyes and stomped away. “I have a call,” she snapped, before slamming the yurt door shut behind her.

“A ca-” Oh. Lance must be trying to contact her. That must be annoying as quiznak. Oh well, he though, turning to give the customer a brilliant grin. More for him. “What can I do for you?” he asked.

* * *

 

“This had better be good,” Nyma said, glaring at the spectral form of the Altean prince in front of her. “I had to cut a trade short because of this.”

The prince had the decency to drop his gaze and hang his head awkwardly. _:I apologize for that,:_ he said in a very formal voice. _:If I had known you were busy, I would have waited.:_

Nyma sighed and waved the apology aside. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “There will be plenty more where they came from. I’m just frustrated, is all.”

 _:Again, I’m sorry,:_ Lance said _. :Do you want me to contact you later?:_

“No,” Nyma said, pulling up a stool to sit on. “I’m here, so we might as well get this over with.”

The prince nodded _. :I’ve spoken to my sister and I’ll be meeting you at Meserie with Keith,:_ he said _. :Do you need us to bring anything when we come?:_

Nyma shook her head. “No. Just yourself and Keith,” she said. “However, I wouldn’t take one of your Lions if you can avoid it. No offense, but they aren’t exactly subtle.”

 _:Would a pod be acceptable?:_ he asked.

“Yes. There are landing pads at the top of the canyon,” she said. “Rolo or I will meet you there and take you down to the mid-levels until our contact is ready for you.”

_:Understood.:_

“Alright, now what the quiznak is wrong with you?” Nyma demanded, crossing her legs.

Lance blinked in confusion before looking away. _:I…:_ He shrugged. _:I told Keith I’m sterile and I don’t think he…:_ He pressed his lips in a thin line and sighed. _:He didn’t take it as well as I’d hoped.:_

“He didn’t know before?” Nyma asked.

 _:Did you?:_ Lance asked pointedly.

Nyma lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Point.”

 _:It wasn’t necessarily common knowledge even when Alteans were common in the universe,:_ Lance explained _. :We didn’t keep it a secret but it wasn’t necessarily something we advertised either. Sex was something that served several purposes: pleasure, bonding, and as a tool. If we thought our services would be useful in that area, then we would use it.:_

“And that plus your inexplicable fertility celebrations must have given the impression your people were promiscuous,” Nyma said wryly. “I wonder why that is?”

Lance rolled his eyes. _:Different cultures, different traditions… Honestly, one species’ taboo won’t necessarily be a taboo for another species. The universe is vast.:_

“I can attest to that,” Nyma said with a chuckle. “I’ve been meaning to find a partner for a while. I have to test out that Kadesh, after all,” she said winking.

 _:I’m sure you’ll find plenty of people who would willing to bed you,:_ Lance said with a grin. _:You’re lovely, smart, and clever. What’s not to like?:_

“Are you offering?” the Teiidae asked, trailing a finger over her cheek flirtatiously.

_:And if I was?:_

 “I might just accept.”

The prince smiled brightly, laughing softly. _:I’ll keep that in mind,:_ he said.

“Besides,” Nyma said, “it’s not as if either of us could actually penetrate the other. At least, I know you can’t. I could play with you though.” She smiled and strode up to the prince, a sultry smile teasing her lips as she swung her hips in a tantalizing manner. “I could make you scream with or without the juniberry.”

 _:Don’t think I can’t do the same,:_ Lance said, running his eyes up and down Nyma’s body appreciatively. _:I am Altean, after all. We’re good at what we do.:_

“I bet you are.” Nyma poked the prince’s ghostly chest, ignoring the way her finger actually moved through the projection instead of meeting a solid surface. “It’s a pity something as insignificant as fertility issues would stop a mate from caring. I was beginning to like Keith, too.” She pursed her lips in a dramatic sulk. “Well, if he ever drops you or lets you go your own way, know that I’m always available.”

Lance’s smile faded somewhat. _:I’ll keep that in mind.:_

“Well then,” Nyma said, stepping back and fiddling with the fluorite shard in her hand, “if that’s all you wanted, then I’ll inform Rolo and we’ll let our contact know to expect you. When do you think you can arrive?”

 _:Two cycles if things go smoothly,:_ Lance answered. _:If I have to, I’ll come alone.:_

“Unless Keith tells Rolo in person that he’s handing his side of the trade over to you, I’m afraid he’ll have to be with you,” Nyma said, rolling her shoulder. “Those’re the rules.”

 _:I understand,:_ Lance said reluctantly. He shook his head and shifted on his feet, leaning his weight comfortably on one leg. _:I need to get drunk after this mess.:_

Nyma lifted an eyebrow and smirked. “I can do you one better,” she said. “Rolo’s got a friend who runs a lounge on the higher levels. I’m sure he could hook you up with one of their strongest drinks. If you can take it, that is.”

 _:Honestly, I’ll take just about anything, right now,:_ the prince groaned. _:I might even settle for some Human alcohol if I can get my hands on some. They seem to have some very stiff drinking age laws here,:_ he grumbled.

Nyma snorted. “I’d like to see you drunk. I bet you’re the life of the party.”

 _:Actually,:_ Lance said, _:Allura is the more amusing of the two of us. Her ability to hold her tongue goes away completely and she’ll say whatever is on her mind. **Whatever** is on her mind. I just flirt more.:_

“So you’re you on steroids and the princess is under a truth serum,” the Teiidae said snickering. “That sounds like fun.”

 _:It would be more fun if a lovely lady such as yourself were to join us,:_ Lance said, placing a hand dramatically over his heart and holding out the other in an open invitation.

“Careful, Lance, I might just take you up on that offer,” Nyma said, slicking her lips.

 _:I sincerely hope you do,:_ the prince purred.

“But what would Keith think?”

Lance’s smile faded somewhat. _:Does it matter?:_

“Not to me,” Nyma said honestly. “Teiidae don’t take life partners. We mate in season with someone we like, then part ways and that’s usually it.” Her unblinking, pupil-less eyes bored into Lance’s. “But you and I both know the Galra do take life partners.”

 _:Yes, well,:_ Lance said, dropping his arms and sticking his hands in his pockets. _:I’m sure most Galra also take the time to get to know their potential partner before mating them.:_

Nyma frowned. There was a lot more in that simple statement than she knew what to do with at the moment, so she wisely left it alone. For now.

“I see,” she said carefully. “Well while you enjoy whatever planet you’re currently on, I have a shop to run and trades to complete. So we’ll speak later.”

_:Later then.:_

The prince gave her a friendly salute before vanishing like mist, leaving Nyma alone in the yurt. Only then did she narrow her gaze and think about what she’d heard. Whether he meant to or not, though she suspected he had, Lance had all but propositioned her. He’d seen the Mark on the prince’s neck the night he’d asked them to spy for him. He hadn’t bothered to hide it as if he was proud of it.

Now, he seemed indifferent to it. That could mean one of a couple things. First, it could mean he honestly didn’t care about the Mark or what it represents, just that it was a way to bind the Galra halfbreed to him. She doubted that, but it was still a possibility, however remote. Second, Keith’s reaction to the Altean’s sterility had been more serious than Lance had let on. This was the most plausible possibility. However, this still left some things unexplained.

How did Keith react exactly? Had he outright rejected Lance? Some Galra were known to do that if they discovered their mate was found to be sterile. It was rare, but was sometimes done in the Empire. Nyma had only heard of such a thing happening twice: once with a sterile omega and once with a sterile beta. Both times, it had been an alpha of relatively high standing who had ended the relationship. She’d never heard of what happened to the rejected mates, but she could guess.

Since Lance wasn’t a Galra, she doubted the results of a rejected relationship would affect him like it would if he was a Galra. Nevertheless, she had no doubt it would affect him in some way. The way he’d flirted with her during their talk told her much about his state of mind. He hadn’t been lying when he said he hoped she would join him. He hadn’t even bothered to veil the proposition with flirting. That in and of itself intrigued her.

Perhaps she would take him up on that offer. If anything, she wanted to see how Keith would react.

* * *

 

Allura leaned against the side of the pod as Keith carefully touched down in the Castle pod hangar. She watched the red paladin’s movements carefully, trying to decipher what was different about him. Keith was usually fairly quiet, only speaking up when he had something important to say. But the flight here had been uncomfortably silent. Even Shiro’s attempts to coax a conversation out of the halfbreed had been met with silence.

She may not stick her nose into other people’s business, but Allura had a sneaking suspicion that whatever was bothering Keith had something to do with her brother. When Lance refused to walk her and Shiro back to the pod, choosing instead to remain behind in the café with Hunk, Pidge, and Pidge’s mother, Allura knew something was wrong. Lance’s smile had been strained and he’d seemed tired.

If she didn’t know better, Allura would have suspected the stronger gravity and thicker air of Earth had begun to get to him. It had certainly made it slightly more difficult for her, but she’d had more practice adapting to the uniqueness of other planets. Lance had spent most of his time in the Druidic Collegium on Altea, so didn’t have as much practice with the subtleties of shapeshifting that she had. The prince was good with topical shapeshifting and some minor inner changes, but the larger scale shifts were Allura’s area of mastery.

However, the princess did know better and seeing Keith now, she knew for certain that something had happened between the two paladins. She narrowed her eyes as the pod settled on the floor and the door opened. If Keith thought he was getting out of this, he had another thing coming.

She stepped out of the pod first, followed by Shiro, then Keith. She delicately plucked the red paladin’s collar and held him in place, startling a grunt out of him. “Shiro,” she said, not taking her eyes off of the red paladin in her grip, “go ahead and meet Coran. We’ll be right behind you.”

“Is everything all right?” Shiro asked in genuine concern.

“I’m about to find out,” she said.

Shiro hesitated a tick before nodding and stepping out of the hangar into the hallways. When they were finally alone, Allura released her hold on Keith, who instantly flinched away and glared at her. She met his glare with one of her own.

“What happened between you and my brother?” she demanded without preamble.

Whatever Keith had been expecting, it certainly hadn’t been that. The red paladin’s violet and gold eyes widened and he looked away with a frown, his ears drooping.

“Nothing,” he mumbled.

“The frell it is,” Allura snapped. “Something happened and I want to know what it was. Did you have a fight or something?”

Keith’s mauve skin paled slightly and his face grew grim. “Of a sort,” he admitted. “It really isn’t your business.”

“When it affects my paladins’ mental and emotional states, it it,” Allura countered sharply. “And since one of those paladins happens to be my brother of all people, then I have that much more reason to be involved. Now tell me what happened between you and Lance.”

The halfbreed didn’t answer right away and the longer he hesitated, the angrier Allura got.

“Is it…” Keith said after a teck. “Does Lance…” he tried again, grimacing when the words refused to come out. “Is it true?” he said finally.

“Is what true?” Allura asked.

“Is Lance really sterile?” Keith asked seriously, turning his gaze to the princess’s.

Allura flinched in horror, her mouth falling open in shock. He had… Lance had… “He told you?” she whispered.

Keith’s entire form drooped. “So it is true?” he asked softly. “He wasn’t lying?”

The princess crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Keith sternly. “If he told you, then you should know it’s the truth,” she said. “Lance doesn’t lie unless he has no other choice.”

Keith looked away and Allura’s frown deepened.

“What did you do when he told you?” she asked in a voice that was the silk draped over a sharpened blade.

“I…” He shook his head in shame. “I didn’t do anything,” he admitted. “I just…stood there. I couldn’t face him. I didn’t even tell him goodbye when we left.” He ran a hand through his hair, pinning one of his ears to his head. “I didn’t mean to avoid him, I honestly didn’t. I was just so confused and…”

“And?” Allura pressed.

“I hurt him,” Keith said softly. “I hurt him and I never even noticed.”

Allura felt her fury rise. “What do you me-”

“I made love to him twice and I never knew it was hurting him,” Keith cried, lifting his head to stare at the princess in horrible understanding. “He never told me. He shouldn’t have _had_ to. I should have been able to tell I was hurting him but I couldn’t. I ended up hurting him and I didn’t know and I… Wha-” He closed his eyes, fighting back tears of self-hatred and guilt. “How could I have not known? All this time… All this time I was the only one getting off and he never said a word. He just let me use him like some common whore and I never even _noticed!_ How could I have been so fraking _blind!_ Why didn’t I ever check to see if he was alright or if he was enjoying himself or if he was even aroused in the first place? I never would have taken him to bed if I’d know it would hurt him. He’s my _mate!_ Why won’t he _tell me_ when I disrespect him or use him like one of Lotor’s toys?!”

“Wait, wait Keith, stop. Keith, _stop!”_ Allura commanded, gabbing the red paladin’s arms and shaking him harshly knocking the halfbreed out of his self-deprecating funk. “Calm down. What do you mean you hurt my brother? Tell me now.”

“I had sex with him!” Keith practically shouted causing the princess to flinch from the volume. “I held him down and had sex with him! He never told me he couldn’t enjoy it. I thought he _was_ enjoying it.”

“You held him down?” Allura demanded.

Keith nodded. “He wanted me to,” he said frantically. “I would have stopped if he’d told me to but he didn’t, I swear! He wanted me to-” Keith’s mauve skin suddenly darkened to darker shade of purple that was almost red.

“He wanted you to what?” Allura said.

Keith gulped. “To make him scream,” he said. “He said he wanted me to… do him until he screamed.”

Allura released her hold and stepped back. She didn’t like this, but she knew her brother. He spoke up when he liked something and would made it clear when he didn’t like something. If Lance hadn’t wanted the sex, he would have said so. More importantly, he would have told her which he didn’t. In fact, he’d told rather plainly that he’d enjoyed it and wanted it to continue. Granted, Allura hadn’t known, or wanted to know really, what sorts of kinks her brother had. That was just awkward, but if it helped solve this fiasco, then sometimes she had to suffer.

“You did nothing wrong,” she said.

“I-what?” Keith gasped, stunned by the princess’s words. “What do you mean I did nothing wrong? I hurt Lance! How is that nothing?”

“You may have hurt him,” Allura said. “But if he’d wanted you to stop, he would have told you. I think you know that or you wouldn’t have continued to do what Lance obviously asked for.”

“But he can’t-”

“What?” Allura challenged, her eyes hard. “He can’t come so you should stop having sex with him?”

“If it hurts him-”

“Do you _know_ it hurts him?” she demanded. “Have you asked him? Or did you just jump to that conclusion all on your own?”

“He’s sterile,” Keith said as if that explained everything. “He can’t repro-”

“He wouldn’t be able to reproduce with you anyway,” Allura said. “You’re both male and neither of you have the reproductive apparatus required to carry a child in the first place. So that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“But sterility can still affect a person-”

“I’m fully aware of what sterility can do, Keith,” Allura said coldly. “I’m also aware that if Lance was in pain, he would have told you. If he didn’t want you, he would have left you. If he didn’t want you having sex with him, he wouldn’t let you. Now stop,” she smacked Keith over the head, “beating yourself over something neither of you can control and accept him as he is. He told you about his sterility, the least you can do is respect that and remain loyal to him.”

“Of _course_ I’m going to stay loyal to him,” Keith said. “He’s my mate. Nothing will ever change that.”

“Then tell him that, not me,” Allura said. “Grab something to eat and drink then go back to Earth and tell Lance what you just told me.” Her gaze softened. “He needs to hear it.”

Without waiting for a response, the princess turned on her heel and walked towards the hangar door. The door had only just slid open revealing the hallway when Keith spoke.

“You said you knew what sterility can do to a person,” the red paladin said.

His voice was loud enough to carry, but soft enough to give a semblance of confidence. Allura stopped in the doorway and waited for Keith to continue, even though she had a good idea of what he would say.

“You’re sterile too, aren’t you?” he asked.

It took all of Allura’s self-control not to scream or snap or cry. She didn’t need to answer out loud. Keith already knew. She still bit her lip when she left the doorway and made her way to the lift. She may or may not have stopped the lift for a teck or two to cry alone. There was no proof either way because no one saw or heard anything.

Well, no one _alive_ , that is.


	19. Howlite: combines reasoning, observation and patience, provides discernment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Manset is suspicious, Rolo admits a mistake, and Allura takes Coran's advise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N** I didn't update last night because I stayed up late working on my group presentation which we gave this morning. I probably won't be able to update tomorrow night either because I have to go to a sleep study and they have a strict Bedtime at 10pm Sharp rule. They cut off the internet and make us go to sleep then. So, yeah. Sorry ahead of time. That said, hope y'all enjoy this chapter.

To say Manset was uncomfortable was an understatement. It seemed the Galran prince had decided to spend his leisure time in Den Resistance which was proving to be both a benefit for his business and a detriment to his ability to receive and pass on information to the rebellion. At least Lotor was relatively polite. Prince Lotor respected the rules of the establishment, never raised his voice unless he wanted to be heard, and never said a word in disrespect or raised his hand to attack one of Manset’s employees or guests. Not yet anyway.

Lotor mostly kept to himself. But Manset noticed how very little occurred in Den Resistance without Lotor becoming aware of it soon after. At the moment, the Galran prince was seated on the rooftop patio of Manset’s lounge sipping a traditional Galra alcohol slowly and observing the cityscape of Meserie with mild interest. One of his toys, a female with reddish hair and green, almost leaf-like skin, was draped across Lotor’s lap napping lazily.

It was deceptively calm, which rubbed Manset the wrong way. He could just tell something about this wasn’t quite right. If he could just put his finger on it…

“Mans.”

Startled, Manset turned to find Rolo standing there. “Rolo,” he said in greeting. He glanced back at Lotor before sighing and focusing on his friend. “Let’s move somewhere a bit more private,” he said.

Rolo glanced out the window to the VIP patio, pressed his lips together in a grim line, and nodded. “Lead the way,” he said, stepping aside.

The crustacean moved through the lounge with ease. There wasn’t too big of a crowd yet. It was too early in the day for the night life crowd to move in. Tourists, traders, and potential customers from all over the ‘verse often came to Meserie for the larger Markets. It was a destination drawing the businesses interested in the opportunity to make a profit, vacationers searching for the exotic and new, and customers searching for a deal.

Needless to say, there was no shortage of foot traffic through this tower and Den Resistance was a hot spot for many staying in the hotels as well as a few locals and traders. It would probably look odd for a simple trader like Rolo to be on the VIP deck with elite guests like Prince Lotor, but it wouldn’t seem unusual for him to sit at the bar and catch a drink with an old friend.

Manset guided Rolo over to the bar surrounding the exotic oasis and took a seat at one of the bar seats. “Two Midnight Suns,” he said to the bartender who approached them. He waited until his employee was busy mixing their drinks and Rolo was settled before speaking. “I trust you have the proof you promised?” he asked.

Rolo plucked the twig from his mouth and sighed. “Not yet, no,” he said. “But it’s coming. My customer will be coming with his mate, which should be proof enough.”

“Oh?” Manset asked incredulously. “And how is that?”

“My customer’s mate in a pure blooded Altean.”

Ah. “I assume this mate is your new boss,” Manset said.

Rolo shot him a dark look. “He’s not my boss,” he said firmly. “He’s an ally, something we’re pathetically short on at the moment.”

Manset shrugged noncommittally which succeeded in rubbing the trader the wrong way. Rolo sulked and didn’t speak again until his drink arrived and he downed half of it.

“I told you the plant is required for Altean reproduction, right?” he said. “I didn’t say why. It’s because Alteans are sterile.”

Manset coughed on his drink, recovering inelegantly. Rolo, curse him to Drule and back, continued to sip his drink calm as you please. “That’s ridiculous,” Manset said, setting his glass down on the bar. “You and I both know the princess is perfectly capable of reproducing and she has the most Altean blood of anyone I know of.”

“That may be,” Rolo agreed, “but she’s also a mixed breed. The Altean blood in her is so muddled that she doesn’t refer to herself as Altean at all.”

“But she still has Altean blood and she gave birth easily enough,” Manset argued.

“Did she, though?” Rolo said carefully, eyeing the lounge owner grimly. “Did she really?”

Manset sighed. “That was an unfortunate event but-”

“Unfortunate event?” Rolo gasped in offense. “She was so distraught she dropped her guard and got captured. I’d hardly call that an ‘unfortunate event,’” the trader hissed viciously.

“I didn’t mean it like that and you know it,” Manset said in a warning tone. “You know I did the best I could to aid her through that time. In fact, it was by my help that she escaped you-know-who’s grasp,” he whispered hotly, nodding to the VIP deck where Lotor still sat. “She has always had my loyalty. Nothing will change that.”

“Romelle is a strong woman,” Rolo said, draining his cup and setting it down on the counter indicating to the bartender that he wanted a refill. “I’m sure she would’ve found her way out of that fix on her own given enough time.”

“Maybe,” Manset agreed. “But you and I both know the rebellion is practically built around her and that cousin of hers. When she was captured, the morale dropped dangerously.”

He studied Rolo’s expression as he spoke. The trader’s brown eyes narrowed and a frown stretched across his face. He picked up his empty cup and rolled it in his hand as he thought. “I’m aware,” he whispered. He took a deep breath and let it all out in a gusty sigh. “I told you about the Voltron team, but I didn’t tell you how we met.” He set the cup down and stared at it morosely. “Nyma and I captured two of their team,” he said reluctantly, his head drooping low over the bar in shame. “We were going to turn them in to the Galra Empire for the reward.”

Manset sat up straight, staring at his friend in stunned disbelief unable to put his shock into words. Rolo couldn’t bring himself to meet his friend’s eyes. He just took the newly mixed Midnight Sun drink the bartender placed in front of him and practically drained it dry, making a face as it burned the back of his throat.

“They stopped us,” he said slowly. “The pilot of the Red Lion is an ace. We flew into an asteroid field to avoid him but he chased us through the field like it was child’s play.” He chuckled, impressed despite his mood. “His mate pilots the Blue Lion and Nyma will tell you his aim is impeccable. He took out both of our guns and disabled our ship in one shot while we were flying through space after that Yellow Lion slammed into us. They could have _killed_ us, Mans.”

He finally looked up at the crustaceous lounge owner with a pleading gaze. “They could have _killed_ us, but they _didn’t_. They let us go, no strings attached,” he said, a note of disbelief in his voice. “They even found an abandoned Galra transport that was damaged but recoverable for us to transfer all of our goods into and let us free.”

He finished the last of his drink and smiled. “Not right away, of course,” he said. “They fought the Galra and freed Balmera 95-Vox first. Their Voltron took on a Galra Robeast head-to-head while their princess healed the Balmera. The _whole_ Balmera. Mans,” he said, setting his cup down with wide eyes, “the Balmera saved them. It acted in their defense and defeated the Robeast _for_ them. I have never heard of any Balmera doing something like that, ever.”

Manset absorbed this new information thoughtfully. He hummed and sat back in his bar seat. “Rolo, I’ve known you for a long time,” he said. “I’ve seen you at your lowest and at your best.”

“Sure, mention my worst first,” Rolo muttered. “Jerk.”

Manset chuckled, but it quickly faded. “But I didn’t know Princess Romelle’s capture had affected you so badly,” he finished sadly. “I knew you were upset, but I didn’t realize _how_ upset you were.” He placed one of his four heavy hands on the trader’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t help you like I should have,” he said.

Rolo shrugged. “We were all in a bad place,” he said.

“Well I think you should know,” the lounge owner said, a smile slowly becoming visible on his face, “Romelle is back.”

Rolo stiffened.

“A small group headed by Brandor spearheaded her rescue,” Manset said gleefully. “She’s back with the rebellion and ready to plan our next offensive.”

Rolo sat upright, nearly losing his balance and falling out of his chair. “What the frell, Mans!” he cried, immediately ducking when he received several glares for his volume. “What the frell, Mans,” he repeated in a softer but no less emphatic voice. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner, you bastard?”

Manset laughed. “Because you distracted me with your, ah, less than savory request before I could,” he said. The trader sulked, earning him another chuckle.

“How long as she been back?” Rolo demanded.

“Less than a turn,” Manset replied. “I don’t know all the details myself, just that she’s back and ready to fight. Apparently, she has information about Lotor that could be useful.”

Rolo gawked. “Lotor?” he repeated. “As in Prince Magog-face Lotor sitting out on your patio right now? _That_ Lotor?”

The lounge owner nodded proudly. “She’s not the princess for nothing, after all,” Manset said.

Rolo threw his head back and laughed loudly, ignoring the glares attempting to burn holes in the back of his head. “Well,” he said, “I guess we’ll fall back into the swing of things. Just like old times?” he said, holding out a hand resting his elbow on the bar.

Manset clasped the offered hand firmly. “Just like old times, my old friend,” he said. “Although,” he added seriously, “we still need to discuss how we’re going to get your…merchandise, shall we say.” He lowered his hand and clasped all four of his hands over his chest. “I can get my hands on some of what you want, but,” he said, holding up one hand to stall Rolo’s premature relief, “not much. I can’t be seen as potentially dealing that despicable drug. My establishment has and will remain a drug free environment. I have a reputation to uphold, after all.”

Rolo nodded. “Alright, then how do you want to do this?” he asked. “Your place, your rules.”

Manset barked a laugh. “You are a true hypocrite.” Rolo just shrugged unrepentantly. Manset shook his head. “It’s easier to get in liquid form,” he said, considering the logistics of this. “But I may or may not have heard that a certain person with access will be visiting Meserie within a cycle. If he has a weakness for alcohol, then that’s none of my business,” he said, taking a sip of his drink.

Rolo snickered. “Well that’s good to know, but…” He glanced around the lounge and the bartender to be sure no one heard him before finishing his thought. “I heard Lotor is known for using it on his toys, if you know what I mean.”

Manset’s gaze darkened. “Don’t go there,” he warned. “I already don’t like that he’s here in the first place. I still have no explanation as to why he’s here. I have my suspicions, but if I’m right, then anything you do will be playing into his hands.”

The trader’s eyes narrowed. “You think he’s hunting us.”

“Perhaps not us, specifically,” Manset corrected, “but the rebellions or sympathizers, yes.”

“But…” Rolo groaned. “Alright, we’ll be careful.”

“No, Rolo,” Manset said sternly. “You won’t be ‘careful,’ you’ll be sane and leave Lotor to his own devices.”

Rolo nodded reluctantly. “I’ll try to stay out of his way,” he promised. “But I won’t speak for Nyma. She’s considering offering to play,” he said quickly before Manset could say anything. “Lotor’s known to have a weakness for that.”

“Don’t let her,” Manset said severely. “Rolo, I’m telling you this as both a friend and a fellow, do not yet her get anywhere near Lotor.”

The trader’s brown eyes studied Manset closely before nodding. “Alright,” he said slowly. “I’ll keep her away.”

Manset nodded. “Thank you.”

* * *

 

“This are the results of the diagnostic scan,” Coran said, handing what looked like a thin sheet of crystal to Shiro. Rover hovered by the advisor’s shoulder watching the exchange silently but attentively. “Give this and one of the spare tablets in the pod to Lace so he can look it over.”

“I’m staying in the Castle, actually,” the black paladin, taking the offered crystal anyway. “I’ll give this to Keith. He’s heading back to Earth.”

“Oh?” the advisor asked. “And Allura?”

“She was talking to Keith in the pod hangar when I left her,” Shiro said in a worried voice. “Should I go back to check on her?”

“Don’t bother,” the princess’s voice said from behind the paladin, startling him.

“Allura?” Coran called, a frown forming on his face when he took in the princess’s appearance. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Coran,” Allura answered briskly. “Shiro, why don’t you go give Keith the results?”

“How did you-” he asked, a flush beginning to form on his cheeks.

“I could hear you two from the hall,” she said simply. “Now go give that to Keith; he should be in the mess hall. When you get back, Coran can take you to Sendak’s memory core.”

Shiro hesitated a tick before nodding. “Yes ma’am,” he said and made his own out of the bridge into the hallway beyond.

“Rover,” Allura said to the small hoverbot, “why don’t you go with Shiro? I’m sure he’d enjoy the company.”

Rover beeped and jumped in the air before darting off after the black paladin. Coran glanced at the green paladin’s hoverbot briefly before his attention returned to the princess. “You’ve been crying,” he said when they were alone.

The princess’s shoulders drooped and she rolled her lips together nervously. He lovely turquoise eye lifted to meet Coran’s and the advisor sighed when he saw the beginnings of more tears in them.

“Oh, my dear,” he said gently, holding out his arms to pull the princess into a hug. “What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

Allura shook in Coran’s hold but did not cry aloud, which worried the advisor. It was so unnatural for an Altean to hold back what they were feeling, to hide their emotions. It was a useful tool for those trained as diplomats, true enough, but it just felt dishonest, he supposed.

“Please tell me,” he asked sincerely. “Let me listen. I may not be able to help you, but I can at least listen to you.”

He felt the princess swallow and take a deep breath in through her nose before she spoke. “Lance told Keith he’s sterile,” she said softly. “And Keith figured out I was as well.”

Ah. Coran suddenly felt his years weigh down his shoulders. The information was bound to surface eventually. He had just hoped it would be in their own time. Although, he thought, there really was no such thing as ‘their time’ anymore, was there? He, Lance, and Allura were the last Alteans in existence.

Well, the last pure blooded Alteans anyway. Coran wasn’t about to completely dismiss the idea that there were some Altean blood still out there in the universe somewhere. Altean mixed breeds tended to require the juniberry plant for reproduction less and less as their genetics mixed with other species. However, their tolerance for the plant's toxins also dropped, leaving them vulnerable. It was a trade that had some good points as well as some bad points, but it was inevitable either way.

“I’m sorry,” he said rubbing his hand through Allura’s snowy white hair. “I’m so, so sorry.” He sighed and held the princess for a few ticks before a thought occurred to him. “Why don’t you go visit your father in the holodeck?” he suggested, pushing the princess just far enough away so he could see her face. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “I’m sure Alfor can help you much better than I can.”

Allura smiled. “You sell yourself short,” she said.

“Perhaps,” Coran said with a shrug. “But I know my limits, most of the time anyway. Besides, if anyone can help you through this, it’s Alfor. He was your father and if he could deal with you as a child while raising Aldrun and Lauma to adulthood, then I’m sure he can do the same for you.”

The princess laughed despite herself. “I bet.”

She sniffed and regained her composure. It was disturbing for Coran to watch Allura emotions vanish from her face, replaced by a smile. It was so unnatural, so foreign.

“You’ll call me if you need anything?” Allura asked hesitantly.

“Of course I will princess,” Coran said in a reassuring voice. “Don’t worry. Go be with your father. I’ll take Shiro down to Sendak’s memory core and explain what’s been going on with the ship.”

“Yes, about that,” Allura said.

Coran fought another wince as more emotion was dismissed from the princess’s face.

“Does father know about these malfunctions?” she asked.

Oh. “No,” Coran said in mild surprise. “No, I don’t suppose he does. I honestly forgot to inform him, although I’m sure he’s aware of some sort of problem.”

Allura nodded. “Then I’ll tell him that as well,” she said.

“Talk about that _later,”_ Coran said. “We’ll have plenty of time to deal with these malfunctions after you’ve spoken to Alfor.”

“Actually, we’ll need to leave this system in a cycle or so,” the princess said. “My brother and Keith need to meet with Rolo and Nyma on Meserie to complete a trade they made.”

“I’ll go ahead and start plotting a course so we can leave as soon as the paladins arrive,” Coran said.

“Thank you,” Allura said. “If Shiro is able to get anything useful from Sendak’s memories, we may split up to investigate that while Lance and Keith are on Meserie. I don’t plan on engaging the enemy without all of my paladins together, however,” she clasped her hands formally in front of her, “if we can do any reconnaissance without being caught, I want to do it. We need as much information as we can get to help up fight this war.”

“Agreed,” Coran said nodding. “Might I suggest we look into making contact with the current rebellion?”

The princess nodded. “I have considered that option,” she said. “If we can ally ourselves with the rebellion while without answering directly to them and retaining our independent status, then I believe that would be a wise decision. However,” she added, “if they require we sacrifice our ability to react on our own, then we’ll forgo the alliance.” Her gaze darkened. “I will not let Voltron or the Castle of Lions fall under the command of anyone but our team. That’s final.”

“As your command, princess,” Coran said proudly.

Without another word, Allura left the bridge to meet her father on the holodeck. Coran took the opportunity to close out of what he’d been working on before Allura, Shiro, and Keith arrived and also left. Allura mentioned Keith would be in the mess hall and the advisor would bet ten bucks- he still wasn’t entirely sure what those were yet- that Shiro would be there too. Coran wanted a quick word with those young men.


	20. Amber: calming for stressed nerves, finds humor and joy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shiro learns something shocking, Lance ponders, and Allura flirts with Hunk. ...wait, what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I managed to write this between 4-10pm. I'm now all electroded up for my sleep study. They put me to bed at 9:50 sharp so I gotta make this quick. I can't edit this as seriously as I'd prefer so I'll do that tomorrow. Night y'all~

Keith was finishing his cup of warmed nunvill when Shiro came into the mess, the Galran hoverbot Rover floating just behind the black paladin’s shoulder. Shiro and Keith made eye contact and Shiro lifted his chin in acknowledgment, walking over to the red paladin. When he was close enough, Shiro held out a thin, rectangular storage crystal.

“Coran wanted me to give you this,” he said.

“What is it?” Keith asked, setting his almost empty cup on the island and taking the storage crystal from the black paladin.

“It’s the results from the Castle-wide systems scan Lance asked for,” Shiro replied.

Keith narrowed his eyes in surprise. “Lance asked for this?” he said. “When?”

Shiro hesitated, tilting his head slightly in confusion. “Right before we left Earth,” he said. “He didn’t tell you?”

Keith shook his head and studied the milky-white crystal in his hand. “Why does he need it?” he asked. “Is something wrong with the Castle?”

Shiro’s expression darkened and he glanced around them in suspicion. “It may be nothing,” he said, “but Coran reported several malfunctions in the Castle after we left. Actually,” he flushed and rubbed his neck awkwardly, “Hunk, Pidge, and I witnessed one of the malfunctions.”

“What happened?” Keith demanded. “Why wasn’t I told?”

“We didn’t know it was part of an ongoing issue,” Shiro said with a shrug. “The Castle is over 10,000 years old. It’s bound to have a few problems. We figured the food goo hose was experiencing a glitch or something.”

“The food goo…” Keith shut his mouth and turned to stare down the food distribution hose hanging innocently from the kitchen wall on the other side of the mess hall doubtfully. “It- What did it do?” he asked hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted to know.

Rover beeped and flashed, obviously trying to recount the events. Unfortunately, no one but Pidge seemed capable of making heads or tails of what the hoverbot was ever trying to say. But they pretended to listen anyway because it seemed to placate the bot’s pride. Who knew a robot could have a sense of pride?

“Rover’s got it,” Shiro said indulgently, patting the hoverbot encouragingly. “The nozzle began spitting food goo everywhere and we couldn’t stop it. Hunk tied the hose in a knot which stopped it from spraying food everywhere but almost made it explode.” He smiled bashfully. “We decided to leave the mess for someone who’s more familiar with the Castle’s equipment and booked it out of there as fast as we could.”

Keith nodded slowly, a look of mild disbelief on his face. “Right,” he said. “You lost a battle to food goo. Good to know.”

“Hey,” Shiro said in mock offense, “flying food is terrifying! Just ask Hunk.”

Keith was in the midst of taking a sip of his nunvill when Shiro’s comment made him snort, tossing him into a coughing fit. Shiro attempted to help Keith recover resulting in both of them laughing. That was how Coran found them when he arrived.

“Ah, in good spirits, I see?” the advisor said, a smile on his face. “Wonderful. I would much rather start this talk on a good footing.”

“Coran?” Keith gasped, rubbing his mouth to be sure it was dry before coughing lightly once. “What is it?”

“Well,” the advisor began, “I believe I should tell you, Keith, that Allura told me that Lance made you aware of his situation.”

Keith’s good mood vanished instantly, surprising Shiro, who was confused.

“What situation?” the black paladin asked. “Is he alright?”

“Yes. Well, no, but yes,” Coran said. He sighed. “Yes, he is in perfect health as far as I’m aware. He and Allura both are still slightly tired from saving the Balmera but they’re recovering much faster than I thought they would which is good news. But, no, I doubt he is alright in the sense I think you mean.”

Keith ducked his head. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean to hurt him,” he said. “It just…”

“It shocked you,” Coran said sympathetically. “I understand, I do. But you have to understand that’s normal for all Alteans.”

Keith stiffened, standing ramrod straight and staring at the Altean advisor dumbstruck. “Y-You too?” he gasped.

“Yes,” Coran said, nodding. “I know it may be hard to accept at first, but-"

“Wha-” Shiro stopped himself, not exactly sure what to ask. He had no idea what was being talked about but whatever it was, it was apparently important enough for Coran to get involved. He decided to stay silent and listen. Perhaps he could figure out what they were talking about.

“But I don’t understand,” Keith said, shaking his head as his ears drooped. “If you’re all like that, then how did…” He struggled to find his words, a bright red flush building in his cheeks. “How did you…you know, get born?”

“What?” Shiro said giving Keith a very confused look. “Born? What are you talking about?”

“The Alteans ar-”

“We’re sterile, Shiro,” Coran said simply. “Although I would appreciate it if you didn’t advertise that.”

Shiro felt the floor drop out from under him. Sterile. But…

“It wasn’t something we hid 10,000 periods ago,” Coran explained as nonchalantly as if he were discussing the weather. “It was simply a part of our biology, still is.”

Shiro had no words.

“But how did you get born?” Keith asked. “I mean, you weren’t hatched from eggs, were you?”

Coran scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “Our biology is similar to yours and Shiro's with a few exceptions, as is to be expected. The most significant exception is our inability to naturally feel arousal or have a reproductive cycle without aid. Tell me, are you familiar with symbiosis?”

“Ah, yes,” Shiro said, blinking and listening intently. “It’s the concept of two or more life forms relying on each other for something in exchange for something else, essentially.”

Coran nodded. “We have a symbiotic relationship with a plant that was native to Altea,” he said. “It relied on the quintessence signature unique to our race for food, and our cultivation, which eased its ability to reproduce. In return it produced a chemical which, while toxic to every other race as far as we know, is required for us to reproduce.”

Keith’s expression slowly morphed into one of cautious hope. “This plant,” he said, “was it the juniberry?”

Coran blinked then smiled. “Yes, it was,” he said easily. “It was the most beautiful flower in all of Altea. It was a lovely flower with deep fuchsia petals and bright yellow berries which grew round and juicy when the flower withered in its time. We would make a delicious juice from the berries, tea from the leaves and petals, and the roots were a sweet treat saved for the Juniberry Festivals.”

He sighed dreamily. “Our entire culture was tied to that flower in one way or another,” he continued. “Some of our elders suggested our symbiosis stemmed from the fact that our two species evolved so closely that we became inseparable.”

“But what if something happened to the flower?” Shiro asked, fascinated by the advisor’s words.

“We would be incapable of reproducing and simply vanish,” Coran answered seriously. “Naturally, the reverse is also true. The juniberry plant only grew freely where Alteans gathered. If our race was suddenly wiped out by some catastrophe, then the plant would essentially starve to death.”

Shiro was silent as he mulled over this new information. “So Allura…” he whispered.

“Is sterile, yes,” Coran said sadly. “I’m so sorry, Shiro.”

“Why didn’t she tell us?” he asked weakly.

“Because it’s none of your business, quite frankly,” Coran said with a shrug. “Lance told Keith as a sign of trust, no doubt. Your reaction to this revelation was not the wisest, young man,” he said, eyeing Keith astutely. The red paladin shrank under the gaze. “But,” Coran continued more gently this time, “I understand why you reacted the way you did. I understand your culture to an extent, as does Lance. Or, we understand it as it was when Altea was still in existence. But Allura is in the best position to understand the more intimate complexities of the Galran culture, as she was a diplomat.”

“I didn’t mean-”

“Stop apologizing, young man,” Coran said firmly. “Save that for Lance when you see him next. And pass along a message to him for me, would you? Tell him Coran is ordering him to sit his buttocks down and talk to you. That goes for you too, Keith. You both need to talk until your throats are raw.” He chuckled. “If Lance resists, tell him I know where the Mental Bond helmets are and I will use them if I have to. That should make him behave himself.”

Keith nodded, eyes wide. “Yes sir. Um…”

“And Shiro,” the advisor said, looking at the black paladin with a serious expression. “Please don’t let on to Allura that I’ve told you about the sterility. It would break her heart. I probably shouldn’t have told you, I admit. But I’m aware of your feelings for her and I want you to be aware.”

Shiro nodded. Now he understood what Lance had been alluding to when they spoke before Shiro left for the Castle. “I won’t tell,” he swore. “But I also want you to know that this affects nothing. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not interested in sex. I’m interested in the mind and character of a person.”

“The sex is a plus though,” Keith said, immediately flushing and looking away guiltily. “Um…”

Coran laughed. “Yes, it most certainly is,” he said happily. “Now that we’ve had that conversation, Keith, I believe you should be returning to Earth now.”

Keith nodded. “Right, but, um-”

The Altean made a shooing noise and waved the halfbreed off. “Off with you, boy,” he said. “Your mate is wa-”

“Yes, but you need to know something!” Keith said loudly.

“I’m sure it can wait,” Coran said briskly.

“No, it can’t,” Keith insisted, planting his feet on the floor. His violet and gold eyes narrowed and his ears faced forward when he bared his teeth, threatening the Altean to cross him. “You need to hear this now,” he said firmly.

Coran faltered when faced with the hint of the halfbreed’s inner alpha instincts. Even Shiro eyed the red paladin uneasily while Coran wisely stepped back, hands raised in surrender.

“Alright,” the advisor said. “I’m listening.”

Keith eased out of his defensive stance, but his gaze lost none of its hardness. “You’re wrong,” he said. “The juniberry isn’t extinct. It still exists.”

Coran gasped an incredulous laugh before sighing sadly and shaking his head. “Even if Altean blood still exists in this day and age,” he said, “it would be much too muddled for the juniberry to recognize the owner’s quintessence as Altean.”

“Yeah, well it _does_ still exist,” Keith insisted. “Rolo knew it by name.”

“What?!” Coran cried in shock.

“Keith, is this true?” Shiro asked.

“Yes,” the red paladin said, a smile slowly growing on his face. “And Rolo’s already in the process of getting it for me.”

“But…” Coran looked caught between weeping and laughing. Hope sparkled in his eyes as he asked, “But how? Keith, how-”

“I heard Lance talking about it,” Keith admitted shyly. “I thought he’d appreciate the gift. I made a trade with Rolo. He’s going to get his hands on the juniberry plant for me. That’s actually why Lance and I are going to Meserie.”

“You’re leaving?” Shiro asked. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“Because we aren’t leaving for a cycle or so,” Keith said. “As I was saying, Rolo knows someone who has a connection and plans on getting me the juniberry. But there’s something you should know about the plant.” He frowned. “It’s considered a drug, a very dangerous drug. According to Rolo, it’s used as a hallucinogen. It’s highly addictive and often kills users after a few repetitive uses.”

Coran was utterly floored. “A drug?” he gasped. “It exists… Oh… Oh this is… I have to tell Allura!” he cried.

“No!” Keith cried, grabbing the advisor’s sleeve to stop him before he could run off and blab the news around the Castle. “You can’t tell her. Not yet. I’m keeping this a secret until the plant is in my hand just in case something happens. Also,” he blushed, “it was for Lance’s name day.”

Coran’s surprise eased to a fond smile. “I see,” he said. “Very well. I’ll keep your secret.” He reached out and petted the halfbreed’s head, mussing up his hair and ruffling his ears, totally ignoring the red paladin’s disgruntled growl. “But do let me know when you have it. I’ll help you sneak it into the Castle, hm?”

“We both will,” Shiro said, a broad smile on his face. He placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “You did well, Keith.”

The halfbreed’s eyes grew round as he looked up at the black paladin in awe. His ears flipped up in an alert position as a faint smile worked its way onto his face. “Thanks,” he murmured.

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Coran said. “Off with you, Keith. Go back and _talk to your mate,”_ he said, waving a scolding finger emphatically at the halfbreeed. “Shiro, come with me and we’ll begin interrogating Sendak.”

Shiro’s grin darkened to something dangerous that Keith hoped was never directed at him. For an instant, Keith almost thought he saw the Champion in Shiro again. He quickly turned on his heel and left the mess hall for the pod hangar bay. He needed to see Lance. He needed to talk to him.

* * *

 

The café was preparing to close shortly and Keith still hadn’t returned. Lance stood out in the emptying parking lot of the café, staring up at the sky. He’d hardly said a word since his lover had left. Keith hadn’t even said a simple goodbye. It was a small thing, but it still hurt worse than the prince anticipated.

He heard music echo through the streets from somewhere, the heavy bass pulsing his body like a heartbeat. The number of people wandering the town had begun to dwindle due to the late hour. But the other members of Team Voltron still on Earth were lingering in the warmth of the café. Hunk and Pidge were good company, but the familiarity and atmosphere of this planet was simply too much for Lance to handle at the moment.

The air was thicker here than what he was used to on Altea. He’d managed to adjust his lungs slightly to adapt, but he couldn’t do much about the increased gravity. He felt heavier, which combined with the darkness was dutifully attempting to convince his circadian rhythm that it was late at night and making him tired. He’d already yawned multiple times.

However, he’d resisted any further efforts from Pidge to push that black concoction they called coffee onto him. It tasted like something burnt. He favored the tea but even that didn’t have the same earthy flavor as juniberry tea or energy kick as the juniberry juice.

This planet, Earth, was reminding him too much of Altea. It was creating a physical ache he felt deep in his chest that wouldn’t go away. He wanted to stay, but he also want to leave as quickly as he could.

“Lance?”

Startled, the prince whirled to see the yellow paladin standing in the parking lot behind him. Hunk was holding two drinks that were steaming in the cool, crisp night air. The prince held up a hand.

“No, thank you,” he said. “I’m fine.”

“It’s not coffee,” Hunk said, holding out one of the drinks. “Promise. You’ll like this.”

Lance studied the yellow paladin’s face closely, looking for any signs of deception, before sighing and taking the cup. He could feel the heat of the drink through the paper cup although the thicker paper ring that circled the cup where his hand held it absorbed most of the heat. He lifted the drink to his nose and sniffed it carefully. It smelled curiously sweet. It wasn’t a scent he recognized from inside the café though.

He took a sip, wincing when the hot liquid burned his tongue. Keith would probably guzzle this without worrying about the burn, but Lance was cold and therefore felt the temperature difference acutely. Nevertheless, he did get a hint of the taste and it was good. More than good. It was _addictive_. Suddenly, Lance was upset he couldn’t drink it right away.

“Good?” Hunk asked in a tone that made it clear he already knew the answer.

Lance nodded. Enthusiastically. “What is this?” he asked.

“It’s called hot chocolate,” Hunk said, clasping his cup between both of his hands. “It’s a favorite holiday and cold-weather drink. Well,” he shrugged, “I personally think it’s an all-weather drink, if you know what I mean, but it’s more popular in the holiday season.”

Lance dared to take another sip. His tongue still got burned, but the temperature had eased off ever so slightly. He could now get a better teasing taste of the drink and it was making his mouth water. “Oh that’s so good,” he murmured appreciatively, hunching his body over the delicious drink.

“Yeah, I figured you’d like it,” Hunk said with a smug grin. “I thought you might be lonely out here all by yourself in the cold with nothing to drink and no one to talk to and no-”

“Are you trying to hint at something, Hunk?” Lance asked chuckling.

“Maybe,” Hunk said. “I guess I was just worried about you,” he said more seriously. “You didn’t talk much when you came in after Keith left. Then you went outside and just stood here.”

He sipped his own drink. Judging by the burnt smell, Lance suspected it was coffee.

“Are you okay?” Hunk asked.

Lance sighed and tried to drink the hot chocolate again, relaxing when the temperature had cooled to a tolerable level now. “No,” he said. He lowered his gaze to the drink in his hands. “Hunk, if I told you something that…didn’t use to mean anything to me and my people but now has a huge impact on Alteans as a race, would- How would you react?”

Hunk blinked and stared at Lance in surprise before considering the question. “Well,” he said thoughtfully, “I guess it would depend on what it was. I mean, if it was life-threatening, then I’d be worried. But if it was something like you don’t eat plants, I guess I’d think you were weird, but eh,” he shrugged, “it’s not really my place to judge. Why do you ask?”

The Altean prince lifted his gaze back up to the sky, feeling so small and insignificant. “Well… If I told you I’m sterile, would you judge me?”

“Are you?” Hunk asked. After a tick, Lance nodded. Hunk sighed. “It’s not your fault,” Hunk said, placing his free hand on Lance’s shoulder. “There are plenty of humans who’re sterile too. It can be due to anything from a birth defect to a medical condition. Don’t let anyone judge you for that.”

Lance smiled.

“I’m guessing you told Keith,” Hunk said, watching Lance’s smile fade. “And he didn’t take it well.”

“He took it better than I thought he would, honestly,” Lance admitted. “But no. He hasn’t spoken to me since.”

“He didn’t even say goodbye?” the yellow paladin demanded.

Lance shrugged, sipping his drink. “I think he was still trying to process what I told him.”

“Yeah, but..” Hunk pressed his lips together in a thin line and stepped up so he stood in front of his friend. “Lance, look at me,” he said, waiting for the prince to obey. “You’re obnoxious, you’re a flirt, and you're ridiculous,” he said.

“Quiznak, not sparing the punches, are you Hunk?” Lance said wryly.

“But,” Hunk interrupted loudly, holding up a finger, “you’re also a loyal friend, a good paladin, a great pilot, and Allura’s Sentinel. I’m still not sure what exactly goes into that title, by the way. But I’m proud to call you my friend, Lance. Something like sterility or whatever isn’t going to change that.”

Lance’s smile eased to something more natural. “Thanks, Hunk,” he said honestly. “I think I needed to hear that.”

“No problem,” the yellow paladin said.

Hunk clunked his cup of coffee against Lance’s hot chocolate and drank. Perhaps that was an Earth tradition. Following suit, Lance also drank his hot chocolate. Then he smirked.

“I’m also a shapeshifter,” he said.

Hunk froze, then rolled his eyes. “Way to break the mood there, Lance,” he said, tipping his head back to take a long drink of his coffee. When he lowered his head, Allura was standing in front of him.

The princess made what Hunk could only call a sultry smile and leaned forward, draping her arms over the yellow paladin’s shoulders until her entire front was pressed up against Hunk’s. But there was something not quite right. Her right eye didn’t quite match the shade of turquoise of her left eye and her eye scales were blue instead of the usual pink. Hunk’s face burned in embarrassed confusion.

“Hello Hunk,” Allura said in- was that Lance’s voice?! “I did say if it was gentleness you wanted, I would help you with that.”

Holy crow that was Lance’s voice what the crap what in the world oh Pele what the heck-

He screamed and threw Allura back, flailing frantically. Right in front of his eyes, Allura’s white hair grew shorter and the color of her left eye returned to a darker, deep sea blue until Lance stood in her place bent over himself laughing harder than Hunk had ever seen him, laugh before.

“Your face,” the prince gasped. “You-” He collapsed in another fit of laughter. He barely managed to pick his hot chocolate up from where he’d set it on the ground and stagger back into the café still laughing.

“That was mean, Lance,” Hunk cried. “Don’t do that. You can _do_ that!? By Pele, you _can_ do that!”

“Pidge!” Lance called when he stepped back into the café. “I broke Hunk.”


	21. Peridot: opens new doors, removes stress, fear, and guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Iverson sees a ghost and Allura talks to a ghost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Hey guys. Sorry I didn't update yesterday. Holy shit man. MSLTs are of the devil. I was so exhausted I developed a migraine and wasn't able to finish writing my personal 3k minimum for a chapter and crashed at 10:30-ish. I didn't even wake up fully until today at 11:30am. That's how tired I was.
> 
> But I'm here now. Things are beginning to happen and I'm beginning to get a clearer picture of where this is going. If it goes the way I think it will, then you should all prepare your hearts. Just FYI.

It was about 3:00 A.M. when Iverson was woken by a phone call. He hadn’t been expecting one, but he’d gotten into the habit of leaving his phone unsilenced, just in case his lawyer or the agency that was protecting him from retaliation by his former employers needed to contact him urgently. Last time he’d received such a call, it was to suggest he disconnect his landline, because someone at the Garrison had leaked the number. Sure enough, not a few minutes after hanging up, his phone had begun to ring.

He ended up having to drive to the phone company’s local office to tell them in person to cut off his land line. Then, just to be on the safe side, he packed a few things into his pickup truck and took an extended road trip. He’d settled down temporarily in a cabin in the north Georgia mountains, because he heard Janice Holt lived the in the city of Atlanta. He wanted to be nearby in case he ever got the chance to pass along information to her. It had proven useful once when he informed the distraught mother of her daughter’s misadventures in the Galaxy Garrison, but not so much since.

So when he groaned in his pillow, checked the caller ID on his cell phone, and recognized the number as belonging to his contact at the Whistleblower Protection Agency, he was immediately fully awake.

“Hello?” he said groggily.

 _“Commander Iverson,”_ the person on the other end said sounding wide awake and perhaps a bit concerned. _“Have you checked the Internet recently?”_

“What?” Iverson said, sitting up and blinking away his exhaustion. “Not deliberately. Why?”

 _“You should be aware that there is a video of the missing cadets, Pidge Gunderson, or Katie Holt, and Hunk Palakiko, circulating the Internet,”_ the person said _. “We wanted to be sure you weren’t the one responsible for the video.”_

“No, I’m not,” the commander said. He quickly reached over and turned on the light next to his bed and sat up fully. He grabbed his Bluetooth device and turned it on so he could talk hands-free. “I’m looking it up now,” he said.

The person on the other end of the line waited for Iverson to search for the video on Google. It came up as one of the top results. Good God, it was only uploaded last night and had already accumulated over 500,000 views. He watched the video which was obviously filmed by someone using a mobile device and who didn’t want to be caught.

Sure enough, there was Hunk and Pidge talking away with… “My God,” he whispered, pausing the video and zooming in on the third person on the screen. “Takashi Shirogane.”

 _“Are you confirming that you were unaware of Shirogane’s presence?”_ the Whistleblower representative asked.

Iverson could hardly believe his eyes. “I…yes,” he said, still staring at the still image in disbelief. “He’s alive. Has this been confirmed?” he demanded. “You need to tell me, is that person really Shirogane?”

 _“We were hoping you could answer that for us,”_ the person said.

The commander took one more look at the video and shook his head. “Based on what I’m seeing,” he said slowly, “I’d say yes, that is Takashi Shirogane.”

 _“And can you identify the others in the video, sir?”_ the person said, accompanied by the sound of papers being shuffled about and perhaps typing.

Iverson zoomed back out to seen the full image before playing the video. There were four other people present in the video. One he recognized immediately as Janice Holt. The other three, however, he had never seen before.

“Are they dressed up?” he asked. “Are those costumes?”

 _“At present, we believe so,”_ the person replied. _“However, we can’t identify them by face and voice. Also, we’re unable to identify what language they’re speaking.”_

Curious, the commander raised the volume of the video and listened to the words as closely as he could. He couldn’t hear much over the hubbub of the crowd in the café; but from what he could hear, none of it sounded familiar.

“I’m not sure what language that is either,” he said. “I-”

He stiffened when the video vanished from his phone, replaced by the incoming call screen. Interestingly enough, the caller was Mrs. Holt.

“Look, can I call you back?” he said. “Someone’s calling me and I need to answer this.”

_“May I ask who it is?”_

“Janice Holt,” Iverson replied.

 _“I’m going to ask that whatever she says be relayed to us,”_ the person said. _“Anything we can use to protect you would be welcome.”_

“I’ll ask her,” Iverson said. “Call you back.” He hung up that call and answered Mrs. Holt’s call. “Hello, Janice?” he said.

 _“Commander,”_ the woman said. _“Did I wake you?”_

“No, you didn’t,” Iverson said. “I was on the phone with someone when you called. They can wait, don’t worry. What do you need?”

 _“Did you know Shirogane was alive?”_ she asked seriously.

The commander sighed. “No,” he said honestly. “I was not aware until I saw the video.”

 _“Video?”_ Janice said in confusion. _“What video?”_

“Someone at the café you were at earlier last night recorded you, Pidge, Hunk, and Shirogane as well as three other unidentified people,” Iverson said. “I’m watching it right now, actually. Do you happen to know the names of the other three present?”

 _“Yes,”_ Janice said hesitantly. _“But I’m not sure it would be a good idea to tell you. I doubt they would appreciate the publicity.”_

Iverson nodded in reluctant agreement. “I have to ask though, what in the Sam Hill was the purple one dressed as?”

For a moment, Janice didn’t answer which in and of itself was strange. When she did spoke, the commander didn’t know what to make of her words.

 _“That’s what he looks like,”_ she said simply.

“I can see that,” he said slowly. “I meant what is he dressed as?”

 _“That’s what he looks like, commander,”_ Mrs. Holt said again. _“That’s what he naturally looks like. If you understand my meaning.”_

Iverson scoffed. “People aren’t purple naturally, Mrs. Holt,” he said.

She was silent for slightly longer this time. _“I didn’t say he was human,”_ she said.

Iverson blinked slowly. “Say again?”

Janice sighed heavily. _“He’s not human, Malcom,”_ she said seriously. _“Neither are his companions.”_

“Aliens?” he said. “Janice, I don’t think-”

 _“You didn’t see what I saw, Malcom,”_ Janice said. _“Those ears? They move. And the dark skinned boy with pointed ears? He can change his form.”_

“What? As in-”

_“Shapeshift, yes.”_

This was unbelievable.

 _“I saw him do it with my own eyes,”_ Janice said. _“That said, I’m not sure if it would be wise to pass along that information.”_

“I…” What was he supposed to say to that? “Where are you right now?”

 _“Why?”_ she asked suspiciously.

“I would like to meet them,” he said. “Shirogane in particular.”

 _“Shirogane has left for the time being, but I’ll ask them,”_ she said. _“Don’t be surprised if they say no, though. Also, please don’t pass this information along.”_

Iverson nodded, catching himself. “Right,” he said. “I’ll do what I can. How long are the rest of them staying? I doubt this information can stay secret for long considering current events.”

 _“Agreed,”_ Janice said with a sigh. _“I won’t let anything happen to them, commander. They’re helping Katie find Matt and Samuel. That takes precedence.”_

“Matthew and Samuel Holt are alive as well?” Iverson gasped, immediately recovering. “Tell Shirogane something for me, would you? If you can. Tell him I’m proud of him.”

 _“I can do that,”_ Janice said. _“Goodnight, commander.”_

“Goodnight.”

When he heard the click of the phone call ending, Iverson leaned back against the bed. He would have to think carefully about what he told the WPA when he called them back. This was a First Contact scenario and he was hardly the person equipped to handle this. But Takashi Shirogane was his best student, and knowing that boy was alive and well was an immense relief.

He needed a drink.

* * *

 

“I see,” the memory of King Alfor said softly.

Allura sat on the floor of the holodeck surrounded by a field of juniberry flowers drawn from the long dead king’s memory. She had pulled her legs up to her chest and tucked her knees under her chin.

“So,” he said, leaning back on his hands next to his daughter, “it would appear this Keith is not what Lance needs.”

The princess shook her head. “No, I think he is,” she said. “I just don’t think he realizes how some things affect Lance. Granted, he has no prior experience to drawn from so he’s basically learning everything from scratch. But still.” She sighed heavily. “I wish he hadn’t reacted the way he did.”

“Neither do I,” Alfor said, his expression drawn in worry.

“I gave him a strict talking to,” Allura said, smiling faintly, “and sent him back to Earth to talk to Lance. If they don’t talk like I think they should, then I may have to get Coran to dig out to Mental Bond helmets. I might just have him do that anyway,” she said. “It could be a good team building exercise.”

Alfor chuckled. “It could be that, or cause more mayhem.”

“How so?” the princess asked curiously.

“Are you sure you’re ready for them to know all of your secrets?” the former king asked gently. “Depending on the level their bond has already reached, they may be able to reach deeper into each other’s minds than you meant for them to. That can cause distrust in a strongly bonded group.” He turned his gaze to his daughter. “You understand the value of some secrets remaining secrets.”

Allura nodded. “But if it would help…”

“If you think it would help, then go ahead,” Alfor said. “You’re the leader of this adventure, not me. All I can do is watch and offer aid where I can. I’ll protect you in any way I can, Allura. You know that.”

“I do,” she said, smiling at her father’s spectral form next to her. “I guess…” She bit her lip as her smile faded. “I guess I just want to go home,” she admitted quietly. “I want to go back to Altea. I know it’s selfish, but I just want everything to go back the way it was before Zarkon betrayed us. What made him do that, father?” She lifted her head and met her father’s gaze directly. “What made Zarkon, our strongest ally, betray us so suddenly? So cruelly? I’m sure whatever problem he had with us could have been handled through diplomacy.”

“Some things can never be solved by diplomacy alone,” Alfor said, reaching out to brush his holographic finger over his daughter’s cheek. “It is nice to dream of a universe like that, but it is also an unrealistic dream. The world is simply too vast and too different for every problem to be solved by words alone.” He smiled tenderly. “Although I admire you for holding such a dream.”

Allura curled tighter in her ball sadly. She knew her dream was unrealistic, but that didn’t stop her from dreaming it. She hated taking lives. She wasn’t ready for this. She never wanted to be the Heir in the first place. She was so sure Aldrun or even Alwida would be named the Heir. Or, better yet, someone she didn’t know. A new royal family brought into the fold. But the people of Altea had named her the Heir.

Had they remained in a time of peace, perhaps she would have been the best choice. But now, during a time of galactic war, she felt small and insignificant. She wasn’t ready for this. She didn’t know if she was ready to lead the way her paladins expected her to. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the tears away. This was no time to wallow in self-doubt.

“Father,” she murmured, “do you think I can do this?”

She felt the light tingle on her shoulder indicating Alfor’s memory was touching her.

“Yes,” he said. “Yes, I do. You have proven yourself to be a great leader, Allura. You are strong; let no one tell you otherwise. You have the courage to stand tall in the face of your enemies, the wisdom to make the right choice when it matters most, and the determination to see this through to the end. You have Coran who will always support you to the best of his ability, a team of paladins who can successfully form Voltron, and a Sentinel who will always ensure you survive to fight another day.”

Allura winced. “Lance believes he’s supposed to die for me,” she said.

“He is,” Alfor said.

The princess lifted her head and stared at her father in shock. “What?” she gasped in a small voice. “He can’t die, Father. He’s my brother. He ca-”

“He is indeed your brother,” the former king said, nodding. “But that now takes second place to his position as your Sentinel.” He met his daughter gaze sadly. “He knew that when he accepted the title I gave him. The Sentinel’s duty is to protect, watch, and guard the Heir. If it’s a choice between the paladins of Voltron or the Heir, the Sentinel must choose the Heir. If it’s a choice between the universe or the Heir, the Sentinel must choose the Heir. If it’s a choice between the Sentinel and Heir, the Sentinel must choose the Heir.”

“But that’s…” A icy cold lump began to form in Allura's chest, clenching around her heart. “He can’t choose me over the universe or the paladins or himself,” she said softly in dawning horror. “He’s my _brother.”_

“He must,” Alfor said firmly. “And if he respects his position as the Sentinel, then he _will.”_

“But that’s _wrong,”_ Allura said fiercely, her eyes narrowing in fury. “If it’s a choice between me or the universe and the paladins, Lance _must_ choose them. I’d rather die than let the universe fall.”

“Be that as it may,” the former king said gently, “Lance’s duty as the Sentinel comes first. He will choose you.”

Allura shook her head. “I’ll order him not to,” she said firmly.

“He’ll disregard that order and do his duty,” Alfor said.

“My life is _not_ more important than the universe,” Allura growled.

“It is to the Sentinel,” Alfor said calmly.

“That’s twisted,” the princess hissed.

“You never had a problem with it before,” Alfor said, startling his daughter. “Nothing has changed from before the Galra attacked us. The only difference is that now the Sentinel’s duty is more of a reality and less of a position. The duties remain the same. It’s just that _now_ the idea of choosing between the Heir and the universe has a basis in reality, whereas before,” he shook his head, “it was just an idea, a concept that defined the Sentinel.”

Allura grit her teeth in seething anger. “It’s wrong.”

Alfor sighed. “If you truly doubt my words,” he said “then why don’t you go back to Altea and demand answers from it?”

“Altea is gone,” Allura said, fighting the urge to cry as her swirling emotions threatened to overwhelm her. “You know that.”

The former king gave her an odd look. “It may be far away,” he said, “but it isn’t gone.”

“Yes it is,” Allura insisted. “It’s destroyed, Father.”

“No it isn’t,” Alfor said, leaning over so he could meet his daughter’s shocked gaze. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Wha- But it _is,”_ she said. “It’s gone. It’s been 10,000 periods. There’s no way Altea would have survived this long without Alteans.”

The former king shook his head slowly. “You aren’t the only Alteans in existence,” he said. “I’m sure there are more on Altea.”

“Altea is _gone,”_ Allura said firmly.

“No, Allura,” Alfor said, placing a hand on his daughter’s knee. “It isn’t. Let me show you.”

Allura watched in cautious hope as her father waved his hand and a holographic star map appeared. The former king gestured and the stars flew past their faces before the Altean star system appeared in front of her. Allura’s breath left her as she scrambled to her feet. She could barely believe her eyes.

There, hovering in space directly in front of her, was the Daystar. Orbiting the Daystar were the two planets Allura never thought she’d ever see again except in her dreams: Altea and Achlys.

“That’s impossible,” she whispered, tapping the holographic image of Altea and a readout in Altean lettering appeared next to the planet. “This… This isn’t possible. Why didn’t I see this before?”

“Because I hid it,” Alfor said. “I was afraid of what would happen if someone discovered it still existed before I had the chance to tell you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Allura demanded.

Her father sighed and studied his daughter’s distraught expression sadly. “Because you weren’t ready,” he said. “You had to learn to stand on your own two feet before learning you had someplace to fall back to.” He held up a hand to forestall his daughter’s argument. “If you had known Altea still existed, would you have spent so much time helping your paladins grow as a team before seeking aid from Altea? Or would you have gone straight home?”

Allura pressed her lips together and looked away guiltily. Her father rested a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

“I’m not angry or upset,” he said, turning his daughter’s face to his.  “You must understand that. I’m not upset. In fact, I’m proud. I’m _proud_ of you, Allura.” He smiled broadly. “I am so very proud of you. You have become an Heir that anyone would be proud to follow. Never doubt that.”

For the first time in a long time, Allura felt hope kindle a warm flame in her chest. She was still confused and still doubted her true strength and position as the Heir. That would probably not change for a while.  But now she felt that maybe that while wasn’t as far away as she’d feared. Perhaps she wasn’t ready yet, but she could be. She would be.

True, she wasn’t ready to face the Galra Empire head on. But no one faced off directly with a powerful empire built over thousands of periods immediately. She had time to build her forces, learn who her allies were, and find her place in this universe. She may be the Heir in name now, but soon she would be the Heir in practice as well. With Lance, Coran, and her paladins by her side, she would return to Altea and be ready to embrace her true potential as the Heir of Altea. With her father’s help, she would be ready to defeat the Galra Empire.


	22. Morganite: balances emotions, heals pain of separation, a subtle and powerful love energy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Thace is unnerved and Romelle decides to deal with a replacement for the time being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Okay, so technically I wrote this last night immediately after finishing writing last chapter but held back on posting this until tonight because I'm mean like that. ^_^ Fair warning, I've thrown a couple things in here that may throw y'all for a loop. One of them is hinted at in the _Voltron: Defender of the Universe_ canon, but I don't think it was ever explicitly said. It may bother some of you but just remember that our concept of morality is different from an alien culture's. 
> 
> The second thing is entirely my canon for this story and it'll be made clear in later chapters so don't worry if y'all miss it here. However, I feel I should mention that _ZanaBean_ called this one in their comment for ch 15 today. I should also mention that I didn't even know I was going to do this until I was literally writing it last night. So no, this wasn't planned but I'm running with it cause it works. ...I'm really still trying to figure out what made _ZanaBean_ see in ch 15 that gave this away before I, the freaking author, was even aware it was going to happen *cue _Twilight Zone_ theme*
> 
>  **īeg** \- old English for island  
>  **photovoltaic** \- relating to the production of electric current at the junction of two substances exposed to light  
>  **Tyndaridae** \- Another name for the mythological brothers Castor and Pollux, the latter of whom Romelle's home planet is named after

This wasn’t exactly what he thought he would be doing when he’d been told he would be attached to Lotor’s team. Granted, he didn’t ever know what to expect when the Galran prince was involved. Usually chaos, but hardly anything else. He felt useless, which wasn’t necessarily the best thing to feel when working this close with either the emperor or the prince. Uselessness often resulted in an unpleasant end.

So he kept himself as busy as he could, all things considered. At the moment, that meant keeping Commander Prorok calm. Prorok had been left behind on Prince Lotor’s battlecruiser orbiting Meserie and was being very vocal about his displeasure. Thace sighed and rubbed his forehead as a headache threatened to take him down.

“Are you well, Subcommander?”

He stiffened at the unexpected voice. “Yes, my lord,” he said automatically.

“Really?” Lotor asked, eyeing Thace from over the top of his drink. “You seem a bit put upon, shall we say.”

Thace stood tall, pushing his discomfort to the back of his mind. “It is nothing to concern yourself with, my lord,” he said.

“Nonsense,” Lotor said. “It’s my job to be aware of the mindset of all those under me. What seems to be bothering you, Subcommander?”

Thace grit his teeth but answered honestly. “Commander Prorok is displeased with his assignment,” he said.

Lotor chuckled. “And he’s chosen you as his verbal target, I see.” He stood from the couch on the patio and strolled over to where the subcommander stood. “I assume he’s done nothing but talk.”

“No, my lord,” Thace said. “Nothing but talk.”

The prince snorted. “I’m not surprised,” he muttered in mild disdain.

“My lord?”

“If Prorok was half the Galra we assumed he was when he was first promoted to commander,” Lotor said, “then he would have done something by now. Simply complaining is a sign of laziness which is unacceptable. Had he any desire to better his position, then he would have acted or spoken to me directly. Going through a middleman is…” He rolled his eyes in annoyance and sipped his drink.

Thace nodded carefully.  “I shall keep that in mind, my lord,” he said.

“And you can pass that along to my father, if you wish,” Lotor added. “I’m sure he would be interested in learning that.”

The subcommander flushed and looked away. “I apologize if my presence is a detriment,” he said.

Lotor waved his apology aside. “You were assigned to this position,” he said. “Assigned by the Emperor himself. That isn’t a command that can easily be ignored or dismissed.”

“Thank you for your understanding, my lord,” Thace said, lowering his head in submission.

“Was there anything useful in Prorok’s rambling?” the prince asked, deliberately omitting the commander’s title.

Thace did not miss the slight to his commander, but he said nothing in Prorok’s defense. “He did mention receiving a communication from Merla,” Thace said. “She should be arriving shorty.”

“Good,” Lotor said, grinning. “I have a few choice words for her.” He sipped his drink and glanced at Thace curiously. “Tell me about yourself, Subcommander.”

Thace stiffened in surprise. “My lord?”

“Do not make me repeat myself,” Lotor said, a steely gleam in his golden eyes. “It’s vastly annoying and a waste of my time.”

“Yes, my lord,” Thace said. “I studied under Commander Sendak before receiving my promotion to subcommander. Then I was assigned to Commander Prorok where I’ve remained since.”

“My condolences,” Lotor said, to which Thace narrowed his eyes.

“I may not enjoy working under the Commander,” he said, “but he is still my commander and I would appreciate it greatly if you did not continue to talk about him in such a disrespectful manner.”

Thace braced himself for a strike or verbal assault in response to his words, but received none. Instead, Lotor threw his head back and laughed.

“Most interesting,” the prince said. “Smart and loyal. Not a combination found often in my father’s commanding officers, I must say. Sendak was one of the few exceptions. Brilliant mind and sharp tongue. His only folly was relying on the Druids’ magic when he fell short of his goals.”

“You dislike the Druids?” Thace asked curiously.

“Distrust is more like,” the prince said. “They have sway over my father’s mind. A true emperor should think on his own without the influence of others so close to his ear.”

Thace nodded hesitantly.

“Do me a favor and keep my words to yourself,” Lotor said. “Inform me when Merla arrives."

“Yes, my lord,” Thace said, watching the prince retreat.

He wasn’t sure how to read Lotor. Every instinct within him screamed to flee from the prince’s presence much the same as what he experienced in the Druids’ or Emperor Zarkon’s presence. There was a part of him that whispered frantically that Lotor suspected him of betrayal, even though he had no proof. But proof wasn’t necessarily needed considering the power Lotor wielded. Thace would have to work harder to turn suspicion onto Commander Prorok.

This was a mess.

* * *

 

The īeg she boarded was one of the larger ones in this colony. It was designed to be a waystation for travelers hoping to catch the next balea to the nearest city. In this case, the nearest city was the capitol. Romelle was immensely relieved when she stepped off of the balea and into the īeg. It meant she was that much closer to home.

Bandor had informed her of the current political situation on Pollux and it hadn’t been good news. It seemed her father was slipping further into the realm of insanity. She would have to watch her step more so than usual. It was too much to hope that King Cova hadn’t heard of her escape from Lotor’s clutches, but she could at least cling to the tenuous belief that her father didn’t know where she was. The longer she could hide right under his nose, the better.

King Cova was an outspoken ally of the Galra. The only thing preventing him from formally offering up sacrifices for the Druids' despicable Robeast experiments was the steadfast refusal of the people. Pollux may be officially considered a member of the Empire, but the majority of the natives didn’t consider themselves Galran citizens. Thankfully, they were wise enough to keep their mouths shut and strong-willed enough to keep King Cova's power in check, for now anyway. This was a tourist planet after all. As long as tourism was booming and the money was flowing, no one, not even the king, would rise up and cause trouble during this time of tenuous peace.

Romelle bit her lip in frustration. Her people could withstand the strongest hurricane, but she wasn't sure if they could weather the not-so-little political storm that was to come. Granted, her opinion of the situation was slightly skewed. She herself had once been in full support of her father’s alliance to the Galra Empire. Then she’d had a taste of it firsthand. That had been an eye-opening experience that she would not soon forget. Freedom was a much better choice than the pseudo-freedom they currently experienced under Galra control.

She wandered deeper into the īeg’s interior, stepping into the lift. Bandor remained on the main floor to cover their expenses. They had to keep their distance from each other as much as possible. King Cove was aware of Bandor’s presence, which was proving to be a drawback to her plans. If she was going to depose her father, she would need her little brother’s help. She would have to think carefully about how to utilize her father’s questionable sanity and obsessive control of her siblings against him. She doubted it would be too much trouble. At least, she hoped it wouldn’t be.

The entirety of what she was about to do hit her full-force, and she had to press her hand against the side of the lift to keep herself from crumbling. Forcing herself to stand tall, she pushed one of the lift buttons without paying attention to which one and felt the vehicle slow to a stop on the designated floor. It wasn’t the observation deck at the top of the īeg where she’d intended to go but one of the hydroponics floors.

The plants grown here were mainly used for both pleasure gardens as well as produce to ship on the baleas to the nearby towns and cities. As was typical of most īegs, the room was one large atrium with multiple floors with mezzanines overlooking the arrival platform far below by the water’s surface. The outer wall was almost completely made of photovoltaic panes which absorbed the sunlight and used it to power the īeg’s systems.

The inner wall on which she stood was filled with plants growing from the mezzanines. Sunlight streamed through the glass ceiling farther up allowing the plants to survive. The irrigation system was a little trickier, because the water had to be purified before being used to water the plants. Salt water was never good for living organisms, other than sailfin or those who dwelt in the water itself.

There were a few other people on this level, mostly tourists. A few were locals but none of them recognized her, thank the ‘Verse. She would probably have to do something about her appearance if she wanted to maintain a low profile. She didn’t stand out exactly, but she was somewhat noticeable. She ran a hand through her sun gold hair self-consciously. She should consider dyeing it.

A persistent buzzing on her wrist caught her attention. She lifted her hand and pressed the button on the side of the small communicator, answering the call. “I’m here. Did you need something?”

 _“I just got word from one of our contacts,”_ Bandor’s voice said, sounding tinny through the mechanical device. “ _I think you should hear this yourself.”_

“Can you send it to me?” she asked.

 _“I can do that,”_ he said. _“Sending it to you now. Let me know when you finish receiving it.”_

Romelle studied the digital image on her communicator, impatiently waiting for it to finish downloading. When it flashed a ‘complete’ accompanied by the little bell, she grinned. “I have it,” she said. “Is there anything I should be listening for specifically?”

 _“Yeah,”_ her brother said seriously. _“You might recognize a name or two in there. Hey Romelle, let me know if it’s too much.”_

“I see,” she said. “Was there anything else?”

 _“Just one more thing,”_ Bandor said. _“Our ride’ll be here shortly.”_

“Already?” she said, leaning over the mezzanine to look down at the landing platform. “I thought we still had ten standard tecks before our balea arrived.”

 _“I guess they’re running ahead,”_ Bandor said.

Romelle sniffed. “Bandor, you may be a good strategist but you are horrible at subterfuge,” she said. “What aren’t you telling me?”

 _“Nothing,”_ he said.

The princess grumbled. “Fine. Be that way. See if I sneak you some sailfin later.”

_“…be glad I love you enough to overlook that threat.”_

She huffed and ended the call. Leaning against the mezzanine, she typed in the code that would connect the device to her translator and settled back to listen to the message.

_"I apologize for the delay in my report.”_

Ah. Thace. Maybe she should have taken her brother’s warning to heart.

_“Voltron has defeated Subcommander Ylvik’s fleet as well as a Robeast at Balmera 95-Vox. The planet is currently free of Galra control.”_

Romelle had to stop the recorded message to fully comprehend the enormity of that statement. The entire planet was free? A Robeast and an entire Galra fleet had been defeated? By Voltron? She would have to take this ‘Voltron’ character more seriously.

What was it anyway? Was it a person? A team? A ship? Surely it wasn’t one ship. There wasn’t any single ship she could think of that was capable of defeating an entire Galra fleet and a Robeast without taking incredible damage inevitably leading to it being decommissioned at best. She needed to know more. She started the recording again, allowing it to pick up where it left off.

 _“I’ve been able to embed what information I could get into this message. There were two ships facing Ylvik’s fleet: Voltron and an as yet unidentified ship the emperor suspects is the Castle of Lions.”_ A sigh. _“I didn’t give the legend of Voltron much credence at first, but now… I’m finding it harder and harder **not** to believe it.”_

As hesitant as she was to admit it, Romelle was beginning to agree. Whether this was the real Voltron of legend or just something wearing that name, it was a thorn in Zarkon’s side. That was a good enough reason to approve of it.

 _“I’ve been in contact with the traders,”_ Thace’s recorded voice continued. _“They claim to have a contact within Voltron’s team who’s willing to trade information with them. They swore they never shared names, just information. This could be your chance to offer an alliance.”_

True. This was certainly an opportunity she wouldn’t overlook. But she would need more solid information before revealing her hand too soon. Everything she knew about Voltron was all secondhand or hearsay. She would need to do some research to back up what she was hearing before coming to a final decision.

 _“That said, if an alliance with Voltron is decided,”_ Thace said, _“then you should be aware of something. The Emperor is focusing the majority of his attention on the capture of someone he believes is the key to controlling Voltron. I don’t know his name, just his title: Sentinel.”_

 _Sentinel? Sentinel of what?_  Romelle wondered.

_“Zarkon is sending his son Lotor t-”_

Romelle stopped the track and take a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. Bandor had definitely been right. She probably should have mentally and emotionally prepared herself for this. To think she could still be disturbed as badly as she was just by the prince’s name was bothersome. She hated herself for it. It had been over six turns since she’d seen the Galran prince last. She never wanted to see him again unless it was tied to a weight and dropped into the sea to be crushed by the water pressure. If he didn’t drown first, that is.

She took a deep breath to steady herself and started the recording once more.

 _“-to track the Sentinel and Voltron down. I’ve been attached to Lotor’s guard for the time being so I don’t know when I’ll be able to send another report. If you meet the Sentinel, I highly suggest you talk to him. Zarkon wants him alive and unharmed. If that doesn’t convince you of his importance, then I honestly don’t know what would."_ Another sigh. _“I hope this message finds you well.”_

The recording ended and Romelle sighed. It had been a while since she’d heard Thace’s voice. He was one of her most prized informants. Although his position so close to Emperor Zarkon was a blessing, it was also a curse. He was close enough to the emperor to learn things her other informants and spies wouldn’t learn of until much later. However, his position also meant he couldn’t communicate often, and the few times he could send out a message, it had to be short and to the point.

Thace had been instrumental in helping her escape Lotor, a fact that worried her beyond what it probably should. She nibbled her fingernail as she ran over Thace’s words in her mind. The more she heard of this Voltron, the more she wanted to see it or them in action, whoever or whatever they were. If Voltron was capable of freeing an entire planet from the Galra on its own, then it was definitely a good contender for a potential alliance.

The fact she already had an indirect contact inside the Voltron group was a plus. She would have look into learning more about this contact before offering a formal request for an alliance. If Rolo and Nyma were the ones responsible for creating this new addition to her spy network, whether deliberate or not, then they deserved to be the ones who worked as her middle men. They weren’t stupid. They could handle themselves.

Then there was the last part of Thace’s message. It would appear she’d found a chink in Emperor Zarkon’s armor. If the Emperor was as desperate to find this Sentinel person as she was led to believe, then finding them first would be a huge advantage. The fact the Sentinel had connections to Voltron too only cemented in her mind the need to track him down before Lotor got his meathooks into him.

She knew it would take time; the universe was big, after all. But it would be worth it in the end. The rebellion needed all the help it could get.

She was so deep in her thoughts, that she didn’t notice stepping into the lift until the doors hissed open on the main floor. Bandor waved to catch her attention. His reddish-brown hair was hard to miss in the crowd of people standing on the landing platform. A small skiff was docked at the platform, ready to ferry her and her brother to the balea waiting in the larger dock just outside the covered dome of the īeg.

This balea was almost identical to the one they’d ridden to this īeg earlier that morning. The only difference was this balea was smaller and designed for deeper water than the previous one. This balea would take Romelle directly to the rebellion’s home base, deep below the capitol of Pollux, right below King Cova’s nose. Why look for a rebel base in your ally’s capitol, or in this case, _under_ its capitol?

“Ready to go?” Bandor asked as they boarded the balea.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said.

Her little brother watched her with his dark brown eyes. “I’m sorry about the message,” he said. “I probably should have waited to give it to you until we were on board, but I figured you’d want to listen to it sooner rather than later.”

Romelle smiled and mussed her little brother’s hair fondly. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I’m glad you did it. I needed to hear that, more than I thought I would.”

Bandor hesitated by the doorway, watching the īeg retreat into the sunset before vanishing in a sea of blue-green as the balea dove beneath the waves. “You miss him,” he said. “Don’t you?”

She didn’t need to answer. Bandor knew.

“Avok’s going to meet us at Tyndaridae,” Bandor said.

“He can’t do that,” Romelle said, pausing to look back at her brother. “Tyndaridae may be a big city, but people would still notice if the crown prince went missing.”

“He’s supposedly on a hunting trip,” Bandor said. “If he happens to get back the same day we do,” he shrugged, “then coincidences happen. Although,” he said, eyeing is sister’s dress, “you might want to put on something more appealing, if you get my drift.” He snickered and adopted a dramatic attitude. “Hunting can be tiresome and I’m sure big, brave brother wouldn’t turn down a lovely lady’s proposal.”

Romelle snorted. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said wryly. “I could use a distraction, I suppose.”

Her brother wrinkled his nose. “You’re weird.”

“Careful Bandor,” Romelle teased. “I know where you sleep.”

“As long as you don’t climb in with me like Avok does to you, I’m fine,” Bandor aid. “I actually value my sleep. Unlike some people,” he muttered under his breath.

Romelle sniffed disdainfully. She meant what she said. She could use the distraction, especially after hearing Thace’s voice again. She suspected Bandor knew and that was why he mentioned Avok. Her older brother may be loyal to her cause, but he was too close to their father to rely on for anything except information. Well, and the occasional sex. He may not be the one she wanted, but he could sate her and that was all that mattered. Besides, if Nyma came through with getting her more contraceptives, then she could maybe even enjoy herself.

Maybe if she imagined a darker face, larger ears, a deeper voice, and a firmer grip, then she could even enjoy herself. As long as she remembered to call out the right name. She doubted her brother would appreciate being called Thace.


	23. Carnelian: releases sorrow, envy, fear, apathy and rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Pidge tries using a classic couples trope, but it doesn't work the way the Internet led her to believe it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Ok, so I seem to have confused and freaked out a few of you from the content of last chapter. I've added a tag for the implied incest upon request. In the original _Voltron: Defender of the Universe_ series, it was implied Romelle and Avok had more than sibling feelings for each other even though it was never explicitly said. Then Avok died and Romelle met Sven (the original series version of Shirogane) and they fell in love/married. That won't happen in this fic because Shiro is with Allura. 
> 
> In this fic, Romelle is in love with Thace and is Keith's mom. I also have it so that even if Romelle, Bandor, and Avok all have the same father (King Cova), they don't have the same mother. They all have different mothers. It doesn't matter who their mothers are/were. Just that they're all step-siblings on par with _Code Geass_ , if you're familiar with that. The incest will be a minor thing at best just like it was in the original series. Hope that clears things up a bit. Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll do my best to answer.
> 
> As for this chapter, all I can say is this: you aren't ready.

Since he’d already flown this route once before with Shiro, Keithek remembered where to go. It was slightly trickier staying hidden in the daylight, even with Pidge’s cloaking. Thankfully the pod was small enough to fly undetected at relatively low altitudes. He was fully prepared to fly back to the parking deck where they’d landed the first time, but then Pidge contacted him.

_“Keith, you there?”_

“I am,” he replied. “I should be arriving in a few tecks.”

_“Don’t bother. We’re moving. Can you pick up my signal?”_

Keithek checked the view screen on the left and saw the green paladin’s signal pulsing ahead on the coordinate map. “Yes. Want me to follow it?”

 _“Yeah,”_ Pidge said. _“Mom didn’t want to drive all the way back to Atlanta so late, so we walked up the street to a hotel and booked a room for a couple nights. There’s a parking deck right next to the hotel where you can slip the pod in and park.”_

“Understood,” he said, adjusting his course so it locked on the green paladin’s pulsing target. “Hey Pidge,” he said slowly. “Is Lance there with you?”

_“Hm? Yeah, he is. Why?”_

“Is he alright?” Keithek held his breath and he waited for a response.

 _“No,”_ Pidge said. _“He says he is, but after you left, he stood outside for a while and didn’t talk to anyone that I know of. Hunk had to go out there and bring him back in.”_

Keithek sighed.

_“What did you do?”_

“I made a mistake,” Keithek admitted. “He told me something in confidence and I didn’t handle it well.”

Pidge hummed. _“I’ll bring Lance out to the deck with me to meet you,”_ she said. _“You have water in there?”_

“In the pod?” asked in confusion.

_“Yeah.”_

“Yes,” Keithek said slowly. “Why?”

_“No reason.”_

That wasn’t suspicious at all, Keithek thought. “Look,” he said, “I’ll be there in a few tecks, so why don’t the two of you come on out.”

_“Sure thing. See you in a few.”_

The click indicating the communication had been cut was a bit louder than Keithek had anticipated causing his ears to press against his head in pain. Pidge must have dropped the communicator or something before she hung up. Whatever happened, he sincerely hoped he didn’t have to hear it again.

When he arrived in the airspace over the town, he aligned the pod with the street the café was on and flew up it until he heard the beep indicating Pidge was within visual range. He looked up to the main view screen and immediately noticed the flashing green target around a figure standing on the highest level of what looked like a parking deck. There was another, taller person standing beside the first. He could never not recognize that person.

Lance.

He swerved over the parking deck, kicking up dust as he did so, and uncloaked. Pidge waved and pointed to an empty spot in a dead-end corner of the parking deck facing what he assumed to be the hotel. There were several other vehicles parked on the top floor of the parking deck. Some were similar to the Altean pod, but most were wheeled vehicles.

Keithek shut down the pod and stood from the pilot seat, climbing back to the back compartment where the door was. When the door opened, he stepped out into the brisk night air and was met by his fellow paladins. Pidge had her head bent over a small device which held her complete attention. Lance, however, stood next to the green paladin staring at Keithek with an unreadable expression, his arms crossed over his chest.

The red paladin grimaced and turned to close the pod door behind him when the lights inside suddenly came on. Surprised, he leaned back into the pod to see what had activated the pod’s system. The next thing he knew, there was a startled cry followed by something hitting him in the back, knocking him onto the floor. The weight on top of him flailed, flopping onto the ground next to him. Keithek looked over to see what it was and blinked in shock when he saw a very flustered Lance.

The Altean prince scrambled up, reaching for the pod door which slid shut behind them, locking them inside. Stunned, Keithek sat up and hit the panel which should open the door. However, just before he could touch it, the lights in the little pod went out entirely leaving him and Lance in complete darkness.

“Pidge!” Lance cried, standing by the door and banging his fist against the metal surface. “Pidge, open this door this instant.”

“Nope,” came Pidge’s muffled response from the other side.

Keithek thanked his Galran night vision because otherwise he would have missed the prince’s hilarious expression. Lance’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in offense. Keithek’s ears twitched, catching the faint sound of footsteps walking away. Did…

“Did she just lock us in here?” Keithek said in disbelief.

“Pidge, let us out now,” Lance shouted at the door.

 _“Sorry guys,”_ Pidge’s voice said through the pod’s communicator. _“At risk of falling for a very classic trope, you two need to talk.”_

“Wha-”

 _“So you both’ll be sleeping in the pod tonight,”_ Pidge said, sounding ridiculously smug. _“Sweet dreams, and for all our sakes, talk, or I’ll get Allura to help me next time. Nighty-night, boys.”_

“She can’t do this,” Lance whispered. “You can’t do this!” he yelled, pushing Keithek aside to try activating the pod’s systems. But no matter how hard he tried, the dashboard would not respond. “Let me out!” Lance cried, slamming his fists against the view screen ceiling.

When nothing happened, Lance huffed and leaned against the dashboard and hung his head in defeat. He lifted it once to shoot a glare out the window. Pidge was nowhere in sight, but Keithek suspected it wouldn’t have made much of a difference even if she had been. There wasn’t anything they could do but wait until morning.

“Lance?” he said.

When the prince didn’t acknowledge him, Keithek placed a hand on his shoulder, only to have it shrugged off. He swallowed over the lump in his throat and sighed.

“Lance?” he tried again.

“Don’t, Keith,” the prince said tiredly. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Well then I’m going to talk to myself and since this is a one room pod, I guess you have no choice but to listen to me,” Keithek said.

Lance groaned and hung his head. For a good few tecks, Keithek remained silent, trying to find the right words to say.

“I’m sorry,” Keithek said simply. Lance didn’t move. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did when you told me you were…”

“Can you even say it?” Lance asked almost too soft to be heard.

“Sterile,” Keithek said, after a couple tries. “When you told me you were sterile.” He leaned back against the metal side of the pod and sank to the floor. “I’m sorry I didn’t… I didn’t know what to say. I never knew. I had no idea you were suffering while I was…” He closed his eyes and let his head thud against the metal behind him. “I just kept picturing you in pain while I had sex with you. I kept thinking, I hurt you. I hurt you and I didn’t even notice. How did I not notice you weren’t enjoying yourself? How could I be sure you weren’t just letting me use you like some common whore?”

His ears twitched, hearing the sound of cloth rustling. Lance was still silent so he didn’t stop speaking.

“I told Allura,” Keithek said. “She practically threw my concerns back in my face.” He chuckled. “She basically told me that I was worrying over something I didn’t understand. She said I shouldn’t jump to conclusions based on half-baked knowledge. She said…” He sighed. “She said I should just ask you. But before I do, there’s something I need to tell you.”

He opened his eyes and looked up at Lance. The prince was standing between the two pilot seats with his back to Keithek.

“I’m not leaving you,” Keithek said. “I won’t ever leave you. Especially not over something like sterility. You’re my mate. That won’t ever change. I need you to know that.”

He watched the prince swallow and bow his head, resting a hand on one of the seats next to him. But Lance didn’t speak or turn around. He stayed where he was.

“I am sorry,” Keithek said, watching his mate’s back closely. “If I ever hurt you, I apologize. If you don’t want to have sex, that’s fine. I understand. But you need to tell me when I disrespect you or if you ever feeling like I’m using you for sex. You’re not a who-”

“You weren’t using me,” Lance said softly, still not turning around. “I knew you weren’t using me. I wanted it just as badly as you did.” His shoulder rose and fell in a small shrug. “I guess a part of me hoped that I would be able to feel something if I did it with you. I didn’t. I never did and I never will,” he said with a sigh. “But that doesn’t mean you’re using me.”

Keithek watched as Lance ran the fingers of his free hand through his brown hair. “It did hurt sometimes,” Lance said. “I won’t deny that. But it also felt good. When I took you to bed the first time, I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew what would happen, but I wanted it anyway.”

“When you left without saying goodbye, I…” Lance shook his head. “I knew you had to process what I’d told you. You have to understand, I never meant to tell you that way. That wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to tell you about my sterility but I didn’t know how you would react.” He gulped and looked down. “I was afraid you’d reject me.” He huffed a weak laugh. “This is ridiculous,” Lance muttered. “I don’t even love you, I don’t think.”

Keithek winced at the unexpected barb.

“But I care about your opinion of me more than I thought I did,” Lance continued. “When you left, I thought… I thought you were distancing yourself from me.”

Keithek groaned and let his head hang. “I should have at least said goodbye,” he said. “I was wrong to leave without saying anything.”

The silence that followed was tense but contemplative. Music from somewhere in town, muffled and distorted by the pod’s metal shell, wafted to Keithek’s ears. It was foreign and unusual, just like the Altean prince. The silence lasted a full two tecks before…

“I propositioned Nyma.”

At first, the words didn’t register to Keithek’s mind. But when they did, Keithek blinked. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed or how he ended up where he did. All he knew was that he wasn’t sitting on the floor anymore. He was pinning Lance to the dashboard with his jaws clamped down on his Mark, heedless of the hands frantically trying to push him away. He could feel his mate’s body tense under him, the terrified fluttering of the pulse under his tongue, and every kick in Lance’s useless attempts to find traction on the floor of the pod.

Instantly, he released his grip and stumbled back from Lance, staring at his hands in incomprehension. The Altean’s chest was heaving and one hand was clapped over the aching Mark on his shoulder. His two blue eyes, one organic and one mechanical, locked on Keithek’s retreating form in fear.

“I-I’m sorry I…” Keithek gulped on his suddenly dry throat and gasped. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened. I-”

Keithek dug through his mind, searching for a memory of the events that transpired. All he could remember was feeling a raging fury the likes of which he could only remember feeling when he saw Sendak crush Lance’s eye as well as a possessiveness that he’d never experienced before. Both emotions were aimed solely on Lance. His mate.

By the cosmos.

“My alpha side…” he gasped in dawning realization. “I must have… Lance, I’m so sorry,” he said, stepping towards the prince.

Lance’s eyes widened and he scrambled away from Keithek, pulling his legs up to make himself a smaller target. The mechanical iris of the prince’s cybernetic eye narrowed, and something flashed across the surface. For a tick, Keithek would have sworn it was a targeting display. That chilled his blood like little else could, stilling him in his tracks.

“Lance-”

“What is wrong with you?” Lance hissed. “You rejected me first.”

“I never rejected you,” Keithek said.

“You acted like it!” Lance snapped. “What was I supposed to think when you left me like that? You wouldn’t even _look_ at me until you came back. It was like you completely ignored my existence. How did you expect me to react? Sit back and wait for my ever loyal alpha to return? Pine for you and wonder what I’d done to displease you? Fall on my knees and submit myself wholly to you in the hopes you and your alpha instincts would accept me and take me back into your arms and bed?” Lance sneered. “What do you think I am? A sex addicted omega?”

“That’s not true,” Keithek said in horrified anger.

“You’re right, because a true Galran omega would never go that far,” Lance agreed. “They at least have enough pride to demand their mate speak to them.”

“I’m trying to do that now,” Keithek yelled in exasperation.

“Then _shut up!”_ Lance shouted. “You aren’t my mate. You never were. You may have put your Mark on me but you did so without my knowledge or permission. You may see me as your mate, but you never even gave me the luxury of even choosing to accept or reject you. I am sick and _tired_ of my choices being _taken_ from me!”

“I only flirted with you on that Galran battlecruiser because I saw you as a means to an end,” Lance hissed. “You were my ticket out of there. I knew about the Galra classes. It was only a matter of trial and error to figure out where you fell. When I realized you were an alpha, it was easy.” The prince grinned, all teeth and no sympathy. “All I had to do was bare my throat a couple times, appear to back down to your dominance, and tease your body. The fact that you were a halfbreed just made it that much easier. It was too easy. _You_ are too easy, Keithek.”

Keithek flinched.

“I knew if I could somehow convince you I was at least remotely interested in you, you were that much more likely to do what I wanted you to,” Lance said, pushing himself up from the floor so he stood. “Once I got out, I was going to _kill_ you.”

Keithek paled, fighting the urge to retreat from his mate. There was nowhere else for him to go. The metal wall at the back of the pod was directly behind him.

“But then you caught my interest,” Lance continued, stepping into the back compartment when Keithek stood. “I thought, what harm was there with taking you with me. I already had you dancing in the palm of my hand. Why not see how far you’d go for me?”

The prince’s smile vanished and Keithek wished he was anywhere else but in here.

“Then you Marked me,” Lance said softly, advancing another step.

Keithek pressed back against the wall behind him, wanting badly to flee from Lance’s fury.

“You took away my right to choose,” Lance said, almost casually as he stepped forward again so he stood directly in front of Keithek. “You’re lucky I came to at least see you as a lover. You may see me as your mate, Keithek.”

Keithek flinched at his full name spat like a curse from his mate’s mouth.

“But you are no life partner of mine,” Lance finished.

Something cold settled in Keithek’s stomach. It wasn’t the familiar chill he’d grown used to feeling from Lance. This was a different kind of cold. It had a finality to it that filled the red paladin with the beginnings of horror. To counteract this new sensation, the Red Lion purred in his mind, consuming the frigid seed in seething flames. The pulse of heat cleared Keithek’s mind, allowing him to notice what he’d missed before.

The entire inside of the pod was frosted over. The floor, the walls, the seats, even the view screens were covered in a thin layer of icy frost. The red paladin stared at his furious mate in awe. Lance was venting more than just his temper it seemed. Judging from the state of his ma- the state of the prince, Keithek doubted Lance was even aware of what he’d done.

He wanted to leave. The alpha instincts inside of him were not insisting he stay. In fact, they were screaming at him to leave. _Get out. Get out now!_ That had never happened before and he wasn’t sure how to take the sudden change. It was confusing him.

Even if he agreed with the sentiment whole-heartedly.

The sound of machinery whirring followed by the pod door sliding open startled the two paladins. Two pairs of eyes, one mismatched blue and the other violet and yellow, turned and stared at the green paladin. Pidge stood almost exactly where she’d stood before she’d locked them in the pod and turned off the systems. Only this time, she wasn’t smiling. Keithek would bet Pidge’s expression was probably a close match for his own at the moment.

Her mouth hung open, working to form words that wouldn’t come out. Lance beat her to it.

“What are you waiting for, Keithek?” the prince asked softly. In any other circumstances, Keithek would’ve found that tone seductive. But not now. Now, it was chilling. “Run along. That is what you want to do, isn’t it?” Lance asked. “Run?”

Keithek looked back at his m- Lance. There was no feeling in those eyes, not even the organic eye. Just cold detachment, like a scientist observing a specimen. Keithek stumbled out of the pod, unable to break the prince’s gaze.

“Pidge, tell your mother I apologize, but I have to get back to the Castle,” Lance said in a conversation tone. “There’s no need for me to stay anyway. Is there?”

The question was directed at Keithek, but he couldn’t find his voice to answer. Lance waited three ticks before, closing the pod door separating himself from Pidge and Keithek. The paladins watched as the Altean pod powered up and lifted off from the parking deck before turning towards the sky and cloaking, vanishing from sight.

The cold in Keithek’s gut grew into a solid stone that weighed him down. He never noticed when he fell to his knees. He could only stare at the empty space where the pod carrying Lance had been ticks before.


	24. Coral: protection from evil, increases imaginations, good for depression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Red Lion isn't happy, Shiro has an idea, and Pidge feels horrible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Sorry for not updating last night. I literally fell asleep while typing, then I had work most of the day today, then my parents came to go to the holiday market, then I had the chance to sit down and finish writing this.
> 
> This is a primarily sad chapter because...it had to be. Btw, I enjoyed reading y'all's reactions to Lance's eruption last chapter. It was great to read so many POVs. I love it. ^_^ 
> 
> Side note: I've fixed this fic's summary so it better fits what's going on. As you can see, this story went a completely different direction I originally intended it to. ...typical...

The Castle rocked violently throwing Shiro against the wall. A deafening alarm blared through the corridor forcing him to clap his hands over his ears as he attempted to orient himself to the madness. When he finally managed to regain his footing, he turned to see Coran racing back to the lift. Together they rode up to the bridge, hoping to find an explanation for the alarm. The Castle continued to shudder and deep, vibrating thuds echoed through the metal.

“What in the world is going on?” Shiro cried when he and Coran made it to the bridge.

The princess was already there, frantically examining the readouts and alerts from the Castle. “It’s the Red Lion,” she said in clipped, worried tones. “It’s attacking its hangar door.”

“What?” Shiro gasped.

“Why would it do that?” Coran said, rushing to Allura’s side to read the Altean lettering. “Good gracious. It’ll break a hole in the door if it doesn’t stop.”

Allura pressed her lips together grimly. “I’m opening the Red Lion’s hangar door,” she declared, inputting the appropriate remote command. “It’s possible the red paladin is in trouble. That’s the only thing I can come up with that would explain this. But still,” she muttered, watching the indicator light flash that the Red Lion’s hangar door was opening, “I’ve never seen the Red Lion react so strongly before.”

“We have to contact Pidge,” Shiro said, placing a hand on Allura’s arm to grab her attention. “We need to know what happened to Keith. If something happened to them, then we need to get them out of there ASAP.”

“I have no idea what ‘ASAP’ means, but I am assuming it means ‘quickly,’ so I agree,” the princess said.

“Basically, yeah,” Shiro said.

When the hangar door opened, everyone looked up to the large view screens that covered the walls of the bridge in awe. The Red Lion in all its furious beauty leapt into view, blazing through the sky. After a tick or two, it vanished in a slipstream.

“The Red Lion doesn’t have cloaking capabilities,” Coran said. “If it goes straight to Earth-”

“It’ll be seen,” Shiro said, nodding. “We need to notify Pidge.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Coran said, hurrying to the control panels at the front of the deck. “Princess, you keep tracking the Red Lion. What’s the status of the other Lions?”

“They’re calm for now,” Allura said, studying the readouts for the other Lions. “But…” She had to look closer at the Blue Lion’s reading. “The Blue Lion seems to be…” She blinked and tried to process what she was seeing.

“Seems to be what?” Shiro asked. “Is it alright?”

“Y-yes, it’s fine,” Allura said, her brow furrowed in thought. “Did you make any headway with Sendak’s memory core?” she asked suddenly.

The black paladin blinked at the sudden change of topic, but quickly shook his head. “I didn’t have the chance to do much before the alarms started blaring,” he admitted.

“Try again,” Allura said. “If this is another malfunction, we need to know. Coran, where are you with contacting the paladins?”

“Nothing yet,” the advisor said. “I’ll keep at it.”

“Good. Shiro, go see what you can get from Sendak,” Allura commanded. “Let me know if you hear anything useful.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the black paladin said with a salute.

Shiro didn’t wait for a response. He ran back to the lift and rode down to where the prison pods were located. It was darker down here to save power. Sendak’s prison pod was lit, as were a few lights along the walls leading to the Galra’s pod, but otherwise it was dark. Had the dim lighting been a maroon and not the soft turquoise it was, Shiro would have felt uncomfortable. As it was, he simply felt alert and wary.

The purple skinned Galra commander stood in the prison pod, dead in almost every way. The cryopod held the commander in a stasis, teetering on the edge of death but never quite able to cross over. The memory core tube erected next to Sendak’s pod glowed with strands of purple light leading to orbs of light that dimmed and brightened in a rhythm. It reminded Shiro of fireflies, perverted fireflies.

“I know you’re in there,” he said, raising his gaze to stare at Sendak’s closed eyes. “I know you can hear me.”

Silence.

Shiro narrowed his eyes. “What is going on here?” he demanded sternly, crossing his arms over his chest. “There’s no way you can’t know what’s going on. Tell me.”

Again, silence.

“Are you doing this?” Shiro growled. “Are you the one behind these malfunctions?”

There was the slightest twitch in the purple stands of light that didn’t go unnoticed by the black paladin. “So you are in there,” he said, a dark grin spreading across his face. “Tell me, what do you know about what’s happening in this ship?”

_“What makes you think I’m the one responsible?”_

Shiro stiffened, dropping to a defensive position and staring at the ceiling in horror. How…? He turned his wide eyed gaze back to the prisoner’s sleeping form and forced himself to relax.

“Why wouldn’t it be you?” Shiro asked carefully. “You have plenty of reasons to want us dead.”

This time, the response over the Castle’s speakers did not startle him. It was a deep-throated laughter that almost sounded like purring. _“True enough,”_ Sendak’s memory said. _“But if I was the one responsible, I would have killed you. Not inconvenienced you.”_

That…made sense. Even if the thought made the black paladin endlessly uncomfortable, Shiro knew Sendak wouldn’t have wasted his time with toying with them. The Galra would have gotten rid of them as soon as he’d been able to do so.

“Then what happened to the Red Lion?” Shiro asked. “Why did it go haywire?”

 _“You ask like I have any control over those infernal beasts,”_ Sendak’s voice said. _“That is your responsibility. A responsibility which you are clearly failing at.”_

Shiro ignored the insult. “If you’re aware enough to talk like that, then maybe we can move on to other subjects,” he said, glaring hard at Sendak’s unresponsive body. “Like where you found the Red Lion.”

_“Such a base question.”_

Shiro’s jaw tightened. Fine. If Sendak was going to play that game, then “What is Zarkon’s greatest weakness?”

 _“Now we get to the core of the matter,”_ Sendak’s voice purred.

“Answer the question.”

_“You’re assuming he has a weakness.”_

“Everyone has a weakness,” Shiro said, his head tilting downwards.

_“Zarkon has none.”_

_“Everyone_ has a weakness,” Shiro reiterated.

 _“Even if, by some miracle, he did have a weakness,”_ Sendak’s memory said, _“what makes you think you could possibly defeat him?”_

“All empires fall eventually,” Shiro said. “History proves that often enough. Even empires that were thought to be immortal, armies thought to be undefeatable, nothing lasts forever.”

_“Zarkon does."_

Shiro grimaced, then paused. “Zarkon is immortal,” he whispered.

In every book, every myth, every legend, every tale Shiro had ever heard from childhood to adulthood, immortality was never free. It always came with a price of some sort. Vampires drank blood to survive, Tithonus from Greek mythology would live forever but continue to age, the list went on. If Zarkon was immortal, then there had to be some price he was paying to do so.

Allura, Coran, and Lance had all been surprised when they found out Zarkon was still alive. That meant he hadn’t originally been immortal. Something must have happened. Something must have changed. If Shiro could figure out what the Galran emperor had discovered that gave him such a long life, then they could focus on that. If it was a substance, then they could cut off Zarkon’s access to it.

If it was a substance, Shiro suspected Zarkon had been using it long enough to be addicted to it. If his team could figure out what was giving Zarkon his immortality, they could make the emperor’s life a living hell. He grinned and lifted his eyes to Sendak’s body.

“For now,” he said.

There was no response.

* * *

 

“He did what now?”

“Hush, you idiot!” Pidge hissed, holding a finger to her mouth and pulling the yellow paladin further away from the bed by the far wall of the hotel room and closer to the bathroom. “I said I think Lance dumped Keith.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said,” Hunk murmured, face slack in shock. “I thought they were doing fine together.”

“Yeah well, apparently not as well as we thought,” Pidge grumbled. “Not even as well as Keith thought, apparently.”

Her gaze softened when she looked at the red paladin laying unresponsive on the far bed. It had taken some effort to snap Keith out of his funk enough to get him up the hotel elevator and into their room. But he hadn’t spoken a word. He hadn’t even made a sound since Lance all but dismissed him and returned to the Castle. He just lay there on the bed on top of the covers staring blankly at the curtained window.

Pidge’s mom sat with him now. For some reason Pidge didn’t understand, her mom had taken a liking to Keith. Secretly, Pidge was willing to bet her bank account it was the ears. Those fluffy, twitchy ears would win the Internet if it ever got a wound up on there. If Keith wasn’t so depressed right now, Pidge would probably record a short video and upload it to Reddit and Tumblr and watch it take flight.

But she wasn’t so cruel as to do it now, not with the way Keith looked. The only time Pidge could remember seeing Keith distraught was when they found Lance after Sendak ripped out his eye. Except this time, it was worse, so much worse. Keith’s skin was paler than normal, his eyes were dull and glassy, and tears dripped steadily down his cheeks. If it weren’t for that and the steady rise and fall of Keith’s chest, Pidge would have thought the red paladin was dead.

When she’d pushed Lance into the pod and locked the him in there with Keith, she hadn’t meant any harm. She just wanted them to talk. It was painfully obvious to her and Hunk that something had happened to drive a wedge between the two paladins. All she’d wanted was to get them to sit their butts down and talk things out. She hadn’t expected…this.

She gnawed her thumbnail nervously. “I locked them in the pod,” she admitted to her friend.

Hunk blinked then whipped his head around to stare at her in shock. “You did what?” he cried. He immediately shrank under the glare Pidge’s mom shot him. “You did what?” he repeated in an emphatic whisper. “Pidge, that is not something you just do to people.”

“They needed to talk,” she argued. “That was the best way.”

“Not it isn’t.” Hunk said seriously. “Believe it or not, locking two people in a closet or whatever just to get them to talk is probably the worst decision. They rarely end up talking things out. In fact, speaking from personal experience here, it usually ends up doing the exact opposite.”

The green paladin’s form slumped in defeat. “Don’t I know it,” she muttered.

Hunk hesitated, studying his friend closely. “Pidge,” he said slowly, “what happened?”

Pidge licked her lips and looked up at the yellow paladin. “I listened in on them,” she said. “I had to know when they were done talking, didn’t I?” she said, when Hunk gave her a flat stare. “If they actually talked it out, I was going to let them back inside.”

“Pidge-”

“I know it wasn’t right, OK?” Pidge hissed, looking away. Her gaze settled on Keith’s form on the bed and she drooped. “I know,” she said again in a softer voice. “But I’m glad I did. If I’d left them in there any longer I… This would’ve been a lot worse.”

Hunk’s forehead creased in confusion. “Why?” he asked. “What did they talk about?”

“Lance did most of the talking,” the green paladin said. “I knew he had a temper. I mean, we both heard him and Allura arguing, so…” She shrugged. “But this…” She shook her head. “This was just vicious.” Her brown eyes locked on Keith’s form. “The things he said… Hunk, I’ve never heard anyone say things like that except in movies. I didn’t think people actually talked that way.”

“What’d he say?” Hunk said gently but firmly.

Pidge gulped and looked up at her friend. “He basically said Keith didn’t mean anything to him,” she said. “He said he only flirted with Keith to get him to do what he wanted. That part I kind of understand,” she said, rolling her shoulders uncomfortably, “Considering how they met, and all. But then he said he was originally planning on killing Keith when he did escape. He only decided to bring Keith along because he was interesting.”

Hunk’s gaze saddened as Pidge spoke. She had to look away or lose her resolve. “Lance said he didn’t love Keith and that he didn’t see him as a mate,” she said. “Hunk? I didn’t… It wasn’t my fault he said that, was it?” she asked in a small voice.

The yellow paladin blinked, dumbfounded by the question. “Why would it be your fault?” he demanded.

Pidge shrugged awkwardly. “I was the one who locked them in the pod together,” she said. “Lance wouldn’t have said those things if I hadn-”

“You don’t know that,” Hunk said firmly.

When Pidge looked back at her friend, the yellow paladin’s face was fierce.

“Lance said those things, not you,” he said seriously. “You may have set the stage,” Pidge winced, “but I get the feeling this has been building for a while,” Hunk finished with a sigh. “Fights like what you’re talking about are usually the result of a lot of pent up emotions.”

Pidge nodded. The guilt hadn’t gone away, but it wasn’t as sharp as it had been. “Will he be alright?” she asked hopefully.

Hunk shook his head. “I-I don’t know,” he said.

“Mom?” Pidge said louder, walking slowly over to the hotel bed. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked, crawling onto the bed so she knelt behind Keith and facing her mother.

Mrs. Holt tucked her hair behind the device hooked to her ear and sighed heavily. “I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “I couldn’t hear all of what you two were talking about, but…” She hummed, her fingers brushing one of Keith’s ears as they ran through his black hair. “Right now, all we can do is stay by his side and support him,” she said.

The green paladin dropped her eyes to the red paladin’s still form and eased herself down to the bed, scooting up to Keith’s back. She hesitated before snuggling up to the red paladin’s back, noticing the way the fluffy ears twitched slightly.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said again, fighting back sobs. “I’m sorry, Keith. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in Keith’s shirt, crying softly. She felt her mom start to brush her hair too. It may not have been her fault Keith and Lance had a fight, but she certainly felt like she’d helped set it up. It was a horrible feeling that ate at her. She teased and tormented her friends, but she never meant to hurt them. They were her friends.

She hadn’t had many friends until she got to the Garrison and got Hunk for a roommate. They hadn’t become friends right away, despite the yellow paladin’s best efforts. It had taken a mishap in applied physics to get them to bond. She couldn’t even bring herself to laugh at the unintended pun.

“Mom?” she said, her voice muffled in Keith’s shirt. When she didn’t get a response, she leaned back just far enough to free her voice and said, “Mom?”

Mrs. Holt hummed a response.

“It feels like when Matt and Dad and Shiro left again,” she said, doing her best to enunciate clearly around her sobs so her mother could understand her.

Mrs. Holt’s face broke, revealing an intense wave of emotion she hadn’t intended to show. She quickly fixed it, taking a deep breath and schooling her expression to one of sadness and motherly concern.

“I know, honey,” she said, offering her daughter a weak smile. “I know.”

“This may sound weird,” Hunk said suddenly, sitting on the bed behind Pidge, “but I kind of want to hear Commander Iverson yelling at us again.” He chuckled weakly. “I could always keep myself in control when he would yell at us.”

“You cried like a baby,” Pidge said, huffing a laugh, or was it a sob?

“When we got back to the dorm room, yeah I did,” Hunk agreed. “But not when the commander was yelling at us. Then, I could just, sort of, tune it out and go to my happy place.” His half-hearted happiness crumbled. “I wish I could do that now,” he said, hanging his head.

* * *

 

Mrs. Holt reached out and wrapped her arm around Hunk’s shoulder, pulling him close. She was ready when the boy began crying by her ear, rocking him gently as she continued to caress her daughter and the purple boy, Keith, with her other hand. Her heart went out to them. She didn’t know what had happened to cause the abrupt change in mood from earlier that night. But whatever it was, she hoped it wasn’t too serious. She finally had her daughter back and knew Hunk Palakiko was safe and Shiro was alive. All that was left was finding her son Matt and her husband.

These children were too young to be caught up in whatever mess they were involved in. She didn’t know how old Keith was, but it didn’t matter. He was too young. She wasn’t equipped to handle this.

She especially wasn’t equipped to handle the fiery blaze streaking through the sky directly at her.


	25. Fluorite: comprehension, aids in stabilizing and calming emotions, very focusing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance comes face-to-face with his mistake, Coran tries to be a good mentor, and Sendak has a visitor.

It was killing him. The slow burning fire hovering just beneath the surface that had fueled his anger just tecks before was fading fast, draining him of his energy. He felt horrible. What he said was the truth, but not in the way he formulated-

Fracking frell.

Lance had lost his temper and lashed out at Keith over something that was trivial in the grand scheme of things. He _knew_ Keith would have a hard time accepting the news of his sterility. That was why he was waiting for the right time to tell him. He wanted to be ready to explain, to have _time_ to explain, to soothe Keith’s undoubtedly ruffled nerves.

He _knew_ Keith wasn’t abandoning him when he left without saying a word, or even looking at him.

Didn’t he?

Lance swallowed thickly and looked down at the dashboard, trying to muddle his way through his tangled thoughts. The pod was hovering in orbit around one of the gas giants in this solar system cloaked and running on silent. He lifted his gaze and took in the vibrant reds and yellows of the enormous planet. The giant, swirling red storm just below the planet’s equator was the perfect equivalent to his thoughts and emotions at the moment.

He knew he’d made a mistake. There was no denying that. Keith had come to apologize and Lance had thrown that apology and so much more in the red paladin’s face in his fury. Lance had a temper that matched his mother’s in its explosiveness. He swept injustices, minor offenses, and annoyances under the rug until he couldn’t control them. Then all it would take was one thing, something small and seemingly insignificant, to trigger an eruption.

But he could have sworn he was in control. He’d made a mistake, yes, but it wasn’t the end of the world. He gulped and heat flooded his face just as hot tears pooled in his eyes. He let out a breath that was more of a sob than a sigh and immediately slapped a hand over his mouth.  Now wasn’t the time or the place.

He froze, eyes widening. Quiznak it all, he was doing exactly what had caused this mess in the first place: bottle up his emotions. He was Altean, for frell’s sake. Alteans were known for _not_ hiding their emotions. He’d even gotten on Allura's case for holding herself back not long ago. Yet here he was doing exactly what he’d warned Allura against. What a hypocrite he was.

He removed his hand from his mouth and let his head fall to the dashboard as another wave of emotion crashed into him, then abruptly retreated leaving him cold and alone. Guilt gnawed at his conscience. He never meant to hurt Keith. Not like that.

He never wanted Keith to know what he’d been thinking when they first met. He never wanted Keith to know what he’d planned to do to him if he hadn’t decided to take Keith with him as they escaped. He never wanted to tell Keith he didn’t love him.

Even though it was true. Right?

Love wasn’t something that was fleeting or founded in sensation and lust. It was something purer than that, driven by emotions and a connection that ran soul-deep, twining and binding with each person’s quintessence. Lance had been ready to open his heart to Keith. If only he’d known his heart was frozen shut.

Why? Why had he lashed out like that? There was no reason for it. But the trigger…

Lance pressed his fingers against his still stinging throat. He felt something wet and warm there. Even though he knew what it was, he still had to see it to be sure. When he withdrew his fingers, he saw the familiar deep crimson of his blood covering his fingers, his shaking fingers.

He took a deep, wavering breath and shuddered. He could still feel sharp nails digging into his arm, flipping him around, and slamming him against the dashboard just as something ripped into his throat. But those eyes…

Lance pressed his fingers back against his wound and shrank in on himself at the memory. The look in Keith’s eyes had been dangerous. They glowed viciously in the dim light of the pod. There had been no life in those eyes; no kindness, no adoration, no sadness, no fear, nothing but hatred and fury. For a moment, Keith was gone and only a Galra remained.

_“I like those eyes of yours.”_

Lance stiffened as something like a claw closed over his heart and squeezed. He couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t real. Hateful gold and violet; _that_ was real, real and petrifying.

_“Did you enjoy it?”_

Lance shuddered violently and curled into a ball in his seat, whimpering. He clamped his hands over his ears to drown out the accursed voice even though he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. The voice was in his mind, embedded in his memory, never to be forgotten.

Tears fell from his closed eyes as Sendak’s voice echoed in his head, matched with the deranged look in Keith’s eyes when the red paladin attacked him. Lance was having the beginnings of a panic attack. He had to control himself. He couldn’t fall apart. Distraction. He needed a distraction. Something. _Anything_ to distract his mind enough to stop it from spiraling into a panicked mess.

His eyes skipped around the interior of the pod, settling on something on the co-pilot’s seat next to him. It was a portable tablet and what looked like a memory crystal. Lance didn’t know what was on it, nor did he care. He just needed something to obsess over to drown out his roiling emotions.

He snatched the crystal, turning it over in his hands until he found the side that should be inserted first. The pod had a slot for memory crystals since it was a common method of transferring data directly and efficiently. Without thinking through what he was doing, Lance tried to push the crystal into the slot. Though it took a few tries because his fingers were shaking so badly.

A moment later, the main view screen of the pod lit up revealing data readouts and images in quick succession depicting the results of what appeared to be a diagnostic check. On closer inspection, Lance realized these were the results of Coran’s full-system diagnostic of the Castle of Lions. Keith must have been bringing it back to him.

Before yet another wave of emotions he was not ready nor equipped to deal with smashed him back into the whirlpool of panic, Lance focused on the readouts. Based on what he was seeing, the Castle began to experience problems slowly ever since Sendak had installed his Galra crystal into the Castle’s main computer. The corrupted quintessence inside the Galra crystal was perverting the quintessence of the Castle much like a virus. The Castle was fighting back, attempting to quarantine the distorted quintessence in an area that didn’t control vital systems like the life support or engines.

In that, the Castle’s quintessence had succeeded for now. But the distorted quintessence was seeping out of the quarantine and causing malfunctions in more and more major systems. If left to its own devices, the distorted quintessence would eventually gain control of the life support system or the navigational and engine control systems. All it would take was a remnant of Allura’s quintessence still lingering in the Castle’s for the distorted quintessence to force open a wormhole to the Void and they would be lost.

Coran was probably already aware of this issue, but maybe not. The advisor had a lot to worry about at the moment. Lance was certain that Coran was currently doing his best to aid the Castle’s quintessence in the fight against the perversion from the Galra crystal. There had to be a way to deal with this in a more efficient manner.

Sendak would know.

Lance balked instinctively at the thought. However true it was, it left a bad taste in his mouth. He knew Sendak’s memory core was filling, but even if it was full, _especially_ if it was full, Lance didn’t know if he could take being in Sendak’s presence long enough to ask the questions he needed answered.

He would-

A beeping tone startled Lance out of his thoughts. He blinked in confusion and scanned the dashboard for the tone’s source. It was an incoming message from the Castle. Hesitantly, he opened a channel.

“This is Lance,” he said. “A- Katie, is that you?”

He almost slipped up and called his sister by her real name. The Galra may not be in this part of the universe yet, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have informants and spies here reporting what they saw and heard.

 _“It’s Coran,”_ the advisor said, appearing in front of the prince on the right view screen.

The moment Coran’s face appeared, Lance looked at it. The advisor’s reaction was almost instantaneous. Coran’s expression morphed into one of horror and concern.

 _“Lance,”_ he said. _“By the Lions, you look awful. What happened?”_

Lance took a deep breath and gave a small shake of his head. “I’m fine,” he said. “I brought it on myself.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat, fighting back the returning onslaught of emotions. “Keith got the worst of it.”

 _“What happened?”_ Coran demanded again. _“Lance, you need to tell me. Were you attacked? Did someo-”_

“No, nothing like that,” the prince said, running a still shaking hand through his hair. “I…” His mouth worked as he tried to form words. He gave a shaky sigh of defeat. “I think I’ve made a huge mistake, Coran,” he confessed reluctantly. “It’s my fault.” He gulped and looked down.

 _“Does it involve the red paladin?”_ Coran asked astutely.

Lance tensed and looked up at the advisor in cautious surprise. “Yes,” he said slowly. “How did you-”

 _“The Red Lion began acting up,”_ the advisor said, looking away from the screen to something on his end of the transmission. _“It tried to get out of its hangar on it own by attacking the door.”_

“It activated on its own?” Lance gasped, narrowing his eyes in shock. “Without its paladin?"

The Lions were known to act of their own accord on rare occasions, but usually only if something had happened to their paladins. Lance paled.

“Coran,” he said urgently. “The Red Lion. When did it activate?”

 _“About half a tock ago,”_ the advisor said.

“And where is it now?” Lance demanded. “Is it still in its hangar or did it-”

 _“Allura freed it,”_ Coran said, his red eyebrows dropping low over his eyes as he spoke. _“Lance,”_ he said carefully, _“what aren’t you telling me?”_

“I think…” The prince took a deep breath. “I think it's my fault.”

 _“What happened, Lance?”_ Coran said sternly. _“You need to tell me.”_

Lance closed his eyes and ducked his head in shame. “I… I lashed out at Keith,” he admitted. “I shouldn’t have. I didn’t mean to. He… He tried to apologize to me and I didn’t know how to respond. I…” He gulped. “I confessed something to him. Something I’d done in the heat of hurt and fear. It- Had we still been on Altea, what I did would have been acceptable, but I forgot-” He groaned and hung his head. “I forgot Altea was gone. I forgot Keith was a Galra. I forgot…everything. I just wanted to confess my mistake, but he…”

His hand reached up to his bleeding Mark with a wince. “It was my fault,” Lance whispered. “I made him… His eyes. Those eyes. They weren’t normal. That wasn’t Keith. It wasn’t Keith. It _wasn’t!_ It wasn’t Keith, but it was Keith’s face.”

 _“Lance,”_ Coran said in a firm voice, jolting the prince out of his dark mutterings. _“Tell me what happened right now.”_

“Keith- I lashed out at Keith,” he said after a teck. “It was my fault. I told him I didn’t care for him when we met. That I was just using him. That I was going to kill him.” Lance tried to edit his words, but once they began the words couldn’t stop coming. It was as if a dam broke, flooding the advisor with words. “I said I only let him live because he interested me. I told him I didn’t see him as a mate and that I don’t love him. It was the truth but it wasn’t supposed to be _said._ Keith wasn’t supposed to _know_ how I felt. I think I…”

_“You knew he wouldn’t be able to resist his mate.”_

He curled back up in shame and guilt. “I think I rejected him,” he whispered in dawning horror. “Oh Lions. Coran, I think I rejected Keith.” Renewed tears began slipping down his cheeks as the enormity of what he’d crushed him beneath its weight.

_"You knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you, Altean?”_

“What do I do?” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. I mean, I- I did when I was angry,” he corrected. “I was hurting and scared so I wanted him to feel the same thing so I didn’t spare any sympathy or watch my words.” He shuddered. “I rejected him. What have I done? Coran, what have I done?” He buried his face in his folded arms and bent legs and wept. “I’m sorry,” he whispered brokenly. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t- I’m sorry. Oh Lions, I’m sorry.”

_“Did you enjoy it?”_

* * *

 

Coran could only watch as the prince wept unable to do anything but watch. His heart went out to both the prince and Keith. He wasn’t sure he knew the entire story, but he could piece together a rough idea from what Lance had told him before breaking down. The prince’s temper was nothing to scoff at. Lance had a temper that often led him to say or do things he regretted later.

There was nothing Coran could do in this situation. Lance had gotten himself into this mess. Though the advisor suspected the prince wasn’t the only guilty party here, Lance had still done something that he would regret. Whatever it was, it had affected the red paladin deeply enough for the Red Lion to react from even this distance.

“The Red Lion is on its way to Earth,” Coran said. He wasn’t sure if Lance could hear him over his tears, but he spoke anyway. “It doesn’t have the cloaking upgrades that the Green Lion has so it won’t be able to go undetected by the Human’s defenses.” He sighed. “Let’s hope they don’t treat the Red Lion as a threat.”

Lance was still curled tightly in the pilot’s seat and sobbing. Coran looked back over his shoulder to be sure they were alone before speaking again.

“Come back to the Castle, Lance,” he said. “Let’s talk about this in person.” Lance shook his head. “You need to talk to someone,” Coran insisted. “You’ll hurt yourself if you don’t. If not me then your father, Allura, _someone.”_

The prince lifted his head and leaned back against the seat staring at the video message, his natural eye dull and bloodshot. _“Alright,”_ he said in a voice that sounded utterly demolished. _“Just… Let me dock the pod and come in alone. I don’t… I’m not ready to see my sister or Shiro yet.”_

Disappointed, the advisor nodded. “I understand,” he said gently. “I’ll open the pod hangar and keep Allura and Shiro busy.”

_“Katie.”_

“I beg your pardon?”

 _“Allura’s dead, Coran,”_ Lance said in a voice as dead as the imagined princess. _“Katie is alive. Allura is dead.”_

Without another word, Lance cut the communication. Coran blinked and sighed. This was not what he’d been expecting when he woke up from his cryosleep.

“Coran!”

Startled, the advisor turned back to the entrance to the bridge. “Shiro?” he called, recognizing the black paladin. “What are doing here? I thought you were interrogating Sendak.”

“I was,” Shiro said, hurrying across the floor to Coran. “Where’s Allura?” he asked, noticing the princess’s absence.

“Speaking with her father, I believe,” the advisor said. “She wanted to know if anything like this has ever happened before.”

The black paladin nodded grimly. “I have a question,” he said, changing the subject. “Do you know of anything that could make someone effectively immortal?”

The advisory blinked in confusion, then laughed in disbelief. “There is no such thing,” he said. “Immortality is a myth, Shiro. People can live long lives, but no one lives forever.”

“Yeah, well, tell that to Sendak,” Shiro grumbled.

“Excuse me?”

“Sendak believes Zarkon is immortal or close to it,” the black paladin explained. “He also believes Zarkon has no weaknesses. But Zarkon’s alive, so by definition he has a weakness. Nothing and no one is perfect. There’s always a flaw somewhere.”

“Yes,” Coran hedged. “What are alluding to?”

“I think Zarkon’s weakness _is_ his immortality,” Shiro said seriously. “Think about it: he has to do something, _use_ something to keep him alive. If we can figure out what he’s using for…fuel or whatever, then we can cut him off. It would be like cutting off an addict from their drug of choice.”

Coran considered the theory carefully. “That is certainly an idea,” he said. “Come with me. Let’s go through some of the archives. Maybe we’ll find something useful, hm?”

As they left the bridge for the crystal chamber in search of the memory crystals, neither noticed a pod materialize in the pod hangar or Lance get out and head for the lift.

* * *

 

It was quiet and dark down here. It brought back memories he didn’t want to think about let alone bring back to the forefront. His footfalls echoed through the corridor eerily before pausing in front of the only occupied prison pod.

_“Still alive, I see.”_

“For now,” Lance answered. His face a dry but his cheeks and one organic were red with the tell-tale signs of crying. “We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** This may not be what y'all expected but eh... Such is how this series seems intent on going. Hope y'all enjoy~


	26. Kyanite: protects against psychic attacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance 'talks' with Sendak, Janice sees a giant lion, and Lance discovers something that should not exist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** And so it begins: the madness.

_“I like the addition. Don’t bionics improve things?”_

Lance did his best to keep his hands at his side and his gaze forward, however much he wanted to touch his scar and look away. He was here for a reason. He had to see this through.

“You know about the malfunctions in the Castle of Lions,” he said in a voice that was steadier than his nerves. “Are you behind them?”

Laughter met his ears that was at odds with the deceptively peaceful expression on Sendak’s unconscious face inside the prison pod.

 _“You’re all malfunctions,”_ the Galra commander said simply. _“You’ll have to be more specific.”_

“Did you know what would happen when you hooked up your control crystal to the Castle’s power array?” Lance asked, adjusting his stance so his feet rested aligned with his shoulders. He clasped his left wrist in his right hand behind his back to prevent fidgeting and stared directly into Sendak’s closed eyes. “Did you know what it would do to the Castle’s quintessence?”

 _“Quintessence?”_ The commander’s voice was parroted the word back to the prince with the hint of disbelief. _“I’m a soldier of the Galra Empire, not a Druid. Quintessence manipulation is their area of expertise.”_

“So you were unaware,” Lance said.

_“On the contrary. I am aware. I’m just surprised you are.”_

“I live here. I have to be aware of my surroundings.”

_“Ah, but it’s more than that, isn’t it?”_

The prince fault the urge to tense, although he did tilt his down ever so slightly.

_“The way you hold yourself now is military.”_

He kept his breathing soft and steady.

 _“But I’ve seen you at your lowest.”_ A low laugh. _“Your screams still fill my mind.”_

The only outward show of distress Lance allowed himself to give was the slight narrowing of his eyes. “I’m sure they do,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if your perverted mind worked that way. But that still leaves me wondering. You were aware of the effect your crystal would have on the Castle in the long term. But the Castle should have been able to quarantine and eradicate the foreign quintessence. It hasn’t. In fact, its been neatly avoiding the Castle’s defenses with almost sentient accuracy. It almost makes me wonder if someone was in control.” He lifted an eyebrow.

Sendak’s memory laughed. It was low and reverberating, sending sickening shudders up the prince’s spine. _“I may have started it, little prince, but there’s no need for me to finish it.”_

“What do you mean by that?” Lance demanded.

 _“You’re the Druid,”_ Sendak’s memory taunted. _“You tell me.”_

Lance fumed silently, clamping down on his emotions with the solid rigidity of ice.

 _“Why don’t you ask your mate?”_ the commander drawled. _“I’m sure he’s licking the palm of your hand like the despicable halfbreed he is.”_

“Don’t talk about Keith like that,” Lance hissed in warning. “He’s ten times better than you’ll ever be.”

 _“And yet he’s still nothing to you despite his undoubtedly impressive attempts to rise to your expectations,”_ Sendak said.

That stung.

 _“Pity the one he’s mated to is the lowest scum of the universe,”_ Sendak continued. _“You may not have killed your sister, but I know you watched your family die. I saw it in your eyes.”_ A laugh. _“We’re much more alike than you care to admit, little prince.”_

“We’re not.”

_“We are. Look at your reflection.”_

Despite his best efforts, Lance couldn’t help but notice his reflection in the commander’s prison pod when he was told to. His cybernetic blue eye adjusted its focus at the same speed as his organic eye. The irony that both his and Sendak’s right eyes were cybernetic did not go unnoticed by him. It disgusted him.

_“I like your eyes.”_

Lance flinched, immediately looking away from his reflection. Suddenly he felt like running. Was this what Keith had been feeling when Lance lashed out to him? Was this what caused the red paladin’s eyes to widen as he backed himself into a corner. Was this was Lance had caused? Or was it worse.

He didn’t say goodbye when he left but Sendak’s laughter followed him like a curse.

* * *

 

To say Janice Holt was stunned was an extreme understatement. It took everything in her to not scream in fear when the building around her suddenly shuddered as if there was an earthquake at the same time there was a loud bang from outside. When she whipped her head around to stare out the hotel window, she did cry out.

Staring directly at her was a single, large yellow eye in a gigantic red head made of metal. Every instinct within her told her to run even as her mind scrambled to make sense of what she was seeing. What was this? A bad Transformers movie?

“Red!” Katie cried.

Janice turned to her daughter in confusion.

“It’s Red,” Katie repeated. “Hunk, Red’s here. We gotta get Keith out there.”

“On it,” Hunk said, nudging Janice out of the way so he could fit between the bed and the hotel room wall.

“What are you doing?” Janice said, her eyes constantly flicking between the children and the giant robot still sitting outside the window. “What is going on? What is that?”

“That’s Red,” Pidge said as if that answered everything.

“Red? Wha- Red what?” Janice demanded.

“The Red Lion,” Hunk said, pulling the purple boy into his arms and sliding back out of the narrow space. “She’s here for Keith. She probably felt his distress. They’re like that.”

“They? Janice asked. “They who?”

“The Lions,” Katie said. “Look, Mom, it’s okay. Red won’t hurt us. Well,” her eyes darkened angrily, “she might hurt Lance, but not us. As long as Keith’s not kept from her or hurt, she won’t cause any trouble.”

“That’s-” Janice stumbled over her words. “That’s a robot lion,” she settled with. “A giant robot lion.”

“Oh believe me. That’s not even the weirdest part,” Hunk said, following Katie towards of the door leading to the hotel hallway.

“What? Where are you going?” Janice said, hurrying after her daughter. “You can’t go out there.”

“Yeah, we do,” Katie said, grabbing her mother’s hand and pulling her along. “Red would only show up like this if it was important. She’ll be able to take care of Keith better than we can.”

“Katie Ann Holt, what in the name of all that is holy is going on here?” Janice demanded.

Hunk whistled. “Whoo, the middle name treatment,” he said. “I’m so glad I’m not you right now.”

Katie grimaced but didn’t stop moving even as more and more people began pouring out of their hotel rooms and rushing for the elevators and stairs in their fear. She couldn’t blame them but it did make it difficult to evacuate the building in the growing crowd. At least it was until-

“Alright people, move your goddamn smegs or so help me I will fucking crush every last one of you!” Katie, Janice’s sweet, brilliant, genius daughter screamed.

“Katie!” Janice gasped in horror.

“Not now,” Katie said.

The people, equally stunned by Katie’s volume, language, and command also paused in their actions, for the most part anyway. Hunk used the opportunity to push his way through the crowd of people with Keith held firmly against his chest. His size and strength force anyone who didn’t get out of his way aside rather efficiently though.

“Move, move, move, move,” Hunk chanted with every step down the stairs.

Janice winced, reaching up to cover her ear when the echoing sounds in the stairwell made her cochlea start to ring. It was an unfortunate side effect of this brand, but it was affordable and the price of hearing her family’s voices was worth every penny. The ringing still hurt.

When they reached the main floor lobby, they were met by frantic hotel employees trying to heard the terrified guests out the back of the hotel away from the robot. Janice was tempted to follow them, but when her daughter continued to run towards the rotating front doors right behind Hunk she didn’t hesitate to follow after them.

The biting cold of the late fall air nipped her face and unprotected hands but her eyes were too busy staring up at the giant robot in front of her. It was feline in shape and… A lion. It was a robotic lion just like the yellow robot lion she’d seen on those Internet videos.

“Oh my God,” she whispered in awe. “It’s real.”

The Red Lion stepped back so its four paws weren’t standing on any cars parked in metered parking spots on the street or any cars that screeched to a stop nearby. It lowered its enormous head so its metal snout was mere inches from Keith’s unresponsive body in Hunk’s arms. Neither Hunk or Katie flinched.

The Lion made a rumbling sound that reminded Janice of a cat’s deep-throated meow and nudged Keith’s form gently. The sight should have scared Janice silly but, for some reason, it didn’t. The scene reminded her too much of a worried mother nudging an injured child.

“He had a fight with Lance,” Katie said to the Lion. The Lion turned its head to Janice’s daughter as if it could understand her. Maybe it could. “I think- I think Lance rejected him,” Katie said quietly.

The Lion made a sound that made Janice clench her fist over her heart in sympathy.

“Do you want to take him back to the Castle?” Hunk asked.

The Lion turned back to Hunk and nodded slowly. Then it proceeded to open its mouth. Janice watched in awe as a ramp folded out of the Lion’s lower jaw and Hunk stepped into the mouth without fear.

Sirens wailed and the sound of screeching wheels made Janice cover her sensitive ears as she spun around only to see flashing blue and red lights and police cars. This was too soon.

“Mom!” Katie cried instantly catching Janice’s full attention. Katie’s face was determined but there was a hint of disquiet at the sight of the police cars that arrived.

 _“This is the police,”_ an officer said over a loud speaker attached to a police car. _“Step away from the robot.”_

The Red Lion amazingly did not move at the sudden rise in stimulation but Hunk looked unnerved and Katie was licking her lips nervously.

“Mom, I- I think I need to leave now,” she said.

No. No, it was too soon.

“No,” Janice said, shaking her head. “Come back. We can take care of your friend. It’ll be okay, please.”

“I’ll be back though,” Katie said quickly, her eyes flickering between her mother and the policemen. “Tell Hunk’s mom that we’re okay. We’re fighting the bad guys, saving the universe, and being regular superheroes.” She smiled. “We’ll find Matt and Dad,” she said proudly. “I promise.”

“Katie?”

“Pidge,” Katie corrected. “I- It’s Pidge.” She smiled awkwardly. “I love you, mom.”

“Wait,” Janice pleaded. “Iverson. What about Iverson?”

“Wha-What about him?” Katie said in confusion.

_“Repeat: this is the police. Step away from the robot or we will fire.”_

“Iverson turned in the Galaxy Garrison for covering up the Kerberos mission and you two going missing,” Janice said quickly. Katie and Hunk both gasped in shock. “Tell Shiro Iverson said he’s proud of him.”

Katie just blinked but Hunk nodded. “We will,” the strong young man said with a nod. “Tell Iverson he was one heck of a teacher.”

Janice swallowed her pain and nodded, stepping away from her child. “Y’all come back now, you hear?” she shouted. “And Katie, watch your language or you won’t be sitting for a week.”

Katie balked and Hunk snorted, just as the ramp folded up and the Red Lion closed its mouth, hiding the children from Janice’s gaze. She wasn’t ready to lose her daughter again. Tears filled her eyes, spilling over her cheeks. Then the Lion’s mouth opened again and Katie reached out to her.

“Get in!” she shouted.

Janice hesitated only a moment before taking her daughter's hand and jumping into the gaping, metal maw. The floor heaved up, sealing her inside a red lit mouth just as a hailstorm of bullets struck the outside of the Lion’s mouth.

“Come on,” Katie said, racing up the Lion’s mouth towards where its throat should be. Instead, there was a large, circular form that pulsed with a red glow. This was not what Janice thought she’d ever experience. She followed her daughter at a slightly slower pace, stumbling when a force suddenly pushed her to the floor.

“Hunk!” Katie called through a hole at the top of a ladder at the back of the Lion’s throat. “Where are we going?”

Janice climbed the ladder and crawled into the room above. Red lit displays filled what she recognized as a cockpit. Hunk had lain Keith down on the cockpit floor so he could hold onto something to keep his balance while still holding the unconscious boy steady as the room around them heaved.

“What is going on?” Janice gasped.

“Wha- Pidge! Why’d you bring your mom in here?” he shouted.

Janice winced at the uncomfortable shade of green that seeped into Hunk’s face.

“Well I couldn’t exactly leave her there with those cops,” Katie exclaimed, grabbing a hold of the sole seat in the room. “She’s my mom.”

“Oh, yeah, didn’t think of that,” Hunk said. “Well, she can’t come to the Castle with us. What’ll we do?”

“Iverson,” Janice said suddenly, capturing the children’s attention. “Take me to Iverson.”

“Uh, yeah, I’d love to, but we don’t know where he is,” Hunk said sarcastically.

“Respect your elders, young man,” Janice said, pulling out her phone. She ignored the soft pop of Hunk’s mouth slapping shut and her daughter’s giggles. “I can call and ask,” she said. “He’s being protected by the WPA until the prosecutors can build a solid case against the Galaxy Garrison.”

“WPA?” Hunk parroted.

“Whistleblower Protection Agency,” Janice said, putting her phone to her ear to hear the familiar ring tone.

That’s when she lifted her eyes to actually look at the images flying across the main view screen of the cockpit. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wide, her phone slipping in her grip. Literally flying. They were flying through the sky. The movements she felt in the room mimicked the images in the view screen perfectly. They were flying. They were in a giant, flying cat head.

“We’re in a giant, flying cat head,” she said.

 _“What?”_ Iverson’s voice said.

Jolted from her shock, Janice fumbled with her phone and said, “I’m in a lion,” she said. “Katie and Hunk are with me. Where are you?”

_“Janice, what are you talking about?”_

“Is that Commander Iverson?” Hunk said. “Hi Commander!” he shouted.

“Fuck you, Commander!” Katie shouted.

“Katie Ann Holt!” Janice gasped. “Where on Earth did you learn that kind of language?”

“Right sorry,” Katie said, rolling her eyes. “Quiznak you, Commander!”

“I hope you’re ready for a good mouth washing, young lady,” Janice scolded.

_“What in the Sam Hill is going on?”_

* * *

 

Lance walked down the corridor towards the lift that would take him to the ship’s bridge. Lance was beginning to suspect that someone was behind the foreign quintessence’s actions. Avoiding quarantines, adapting to the Castle’s defenses at incredible speed, learning from previous attempts to avoid similar attempts to stop it. There were too many signs of intelligence for these malfunctions to be cause simply by perverted quintessence. He had to get to the bridge to run a few specific tests to be sure of his suspicions though.

He didn’t expect to run into his sister on the way there, though.

“Lance?” Allura gasped in surprise. “What are you doing here? I thought you were down on Earth with the others.” She looked behind her brother’s shoulders curiously. “Where are Hunk, Pidge, and Keith?”

Lance winced at the red paladin’s name. “They’re still on Earth,” he said. “I came back to look into the malfunctions.”

“Oh yes, right,” she said as if only just remembering that point.

Lance looked at his sister oddly. “Are you alright?” he asked carefully. “You look…manic.”

Allura’s face burst into a smile that nearly blinded Lance with its brilliance. “I’m ecstatic!” she cried, grabbing both of her brother’s hands in her own. “Father just gave me amazing news.”

The prince hesitated, not sure how he felt about that strange gleam in his sister’s eyes. It just didn’t seem right. “What news?” he asked.

“You have to come with me,” she said, running back down the hall dragging Lance along. “You have to see it to believe it.”

“See what?” Lance said, stumbling to keep up with Allura’s enthusiasm. “Allura, wait!”

The princess pulled him to the door to the holodeck and Lance blinked. “Father?” he said. “Does this have something to do with Father?”

“Just wait and see,” she said, waiting for the door to slide open before pulling him inside.

The holographic mountainside shone in the simulated sunlight of Altea as it was 10,000 periods ago. The juniberry flowers in full bloom waved in the breeze with the tall blades of emerald green grass. Far above lins moved their slender, serpentine bodies through the air in their biannual migration.

In the center of it all stood King Alfor’s memory. The former king smiled at his son and held his arms out in greeting. “Lance,” he said. “I’m glad you came.”

“Tell him, Father,” Allura said excitedly. “Tell him what you told me.”

Alfor laughed and patted his daughter’s beautiful hair lovingly. Something about it just felt…off to Lance.

“Tell me what?” the prince asked, watching his family in confusion.

The former king’s smiled softened. “I have something to show you,” he said.

Lance shifted nervously but nodded, waiting patiently. He watched his father’s memory wave a hand causing the lights in the holodeck to dim drastically. Pinpoints of light similar to starbugs flew through the air around him before settling in the organized chaos Lance recognized as, “A starmap,” he whispered. He looked around him in awe. “I don’t understand. What am I supposed to see?”

Allura’s smile was perhaps a bit too wide. She pointed to a spot in space that was currently empty of any planets or stars, waving him closer. Cautiously, Lance approached his sister and looked at the empty spot suspiciously.

“There’s nothing there,” he said.

“That’s because I hid it,” the former king said in quiet pride. “I had to protect you and everyone else from the Galra at all costs.”

Lance looked up at his father’s memory. “I-I don’t understand,” he admitted.

Alfor nodded to the empty spot and Lance slowly returned his gaze to the void in the starmap. Only, it wasn’t a void anymore. Where before there had been nothing, there was now a star system. But this star system shouldn’t exist. Lance had finally accepted it was gone, lost, destroyed.

He suddenly felt clouded, muddled, confused, unable to look away from the star system that simply should not be there. It became hard to focus on anything else. This wasn’t right. Something was happening to him. This wasn’t… This was…

“Altea,” he whispered.


	27. Hematite: promotes common sense, level headedness, protection, stone for the mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Pidge gets a mouthful, Coran misses, and the femme fatale makes her debut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Another night, another chapter, another character. Oh boy~
> 
> Mistro \- Norwegian for 'mistrust'

Malcom Iverson was not prone to delusions or hallucinations. He was a commander of troops. He couldn’t afford to get lost in his imagination. One slip and he could miss something important which could result in his cadets getting hurt or worse. It had been his responsibility to be sure all of the cadets remained inside the barracks of the west coast Garrison base, and he’d missed two students who were now at the center of an international investigation regarding the Galaxy Garrison.

He didn’t know everything that went on that night, but he knew enough to be sure laws had been broken, and innocent lives had been needlessly endangered in a cover-up. He highly suspected the cover-up involved the meteorite that crashed just outside the Garrison property that night prompting a fast reaction from the higher-ups. Whatever crash-landed that night must have been important.

How ironic that yet again, something fell from the sky, resulting in a quick reaction from law enforcement, and involving the very same cadets who went missing under his watch. He currently stood in the common room, staring fixedly at the television screen. There, taking off and flying through the sky in multiple shots from multiple locations and sources, was a mechanical lion.

The last time the commander saw a lion just like this one was the day after Hunk Palakiko and Pidge Gunderson, aka Katie Holt, vanished from the Garrison. Only that lion had been yellow and boxier in design than this one. The red lion on the television was red and sleeker, most likely built for speed and agility and, for some reason beyond the commander’s comprehension, Janice Holt was inside it.

That was still hard for him to believe even as he watched yet another video of the red lion taking flight from the middle of a road. All he could think of to compare it to was a Transformer. But did the robot lions have pilots or were they fully sentient and capable of flying themselves? So many questions and so few answers.

He toyed with his cell phone in his hand, waiting for Janice to call him back like she’d promised right before the call dropped. She must have lost signal. He looked out the window at the sky looking for anything that could possibly be a faraway red lion zipping through the sky. He’d already been nearly fooled three different times by common passenger airplanes flying smoothly through the night sky. Clouds began moving in from the southwest until the sky was now mostly cloudy with a ceiling of 2,000 feet, blocking the brightness from the oncoming sunlight.

Something from the southeast caught his attention. It wasn’t much, just a disturbance in the cloud patterns that was typical of large aerial vehicles. There was just one thing: that aerial vehicle was not flying along the typical flight paths of most commercial planes and there weren’t any military bases in the vicinity. In fact, this area was too mountainous for the low altitude that vehicle, whatever it was, was currently flying at.

Then it occurred to him. He had no proof and no return call from Janice to confirm his theory, but he suspected he knew exactly what that aerial vehicle was: the red lion. Without thinking, he grabbed his keys, his wallet, his phone, and slung on a jacket while stuffing his feet in his shoes and left the hotel room the WPA had set him up in.

He barely made it outside before the red lion made it to the large green field next to the small hotel. For a giant ship, the lion was surprisingly quiet. He stepped out into the open and immediately felt the lion’s glowing yellow eyes lock onto him. The lion remained standing but lowered its huge head and opened its mouth. Commander Malcom Iverson did not flinch. However, when a ramp folded out from the lion’s lower jaw and Pidge Gunderson stepped out into the open, Iverson did heave a sigh of relief.

“Cadet,” he said.

“Commander,” his former cadet said.

“Is Palakiko with you?” he asked.

Gunderson jerked her chin upwards. “He’s still in the cockpit,” she answered stiffly.

Iverson nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from his formerly missing cadet. He swallowed thickly. “Cadet,” he said sharply, startling Gunderson into an attention stance, “report.”

Gunderson saluted and answered in a short, curt voice, “Hunk and I found Shiro and saved him from the Garrison’s goons,” she said. “Then we found the Yellow Lion and flew it away.”

“Away where, Cadet?” Iverson said.

“Space, sir,” Gunderson answered promptly. “And with all due respect, sir,” she lowered her hand, breaking the salute, “I don’t answer to you anymore. I’m a paladin of Voltron, and I only answer to my leader and Shiro.”

The way Gunderson stood and spoke left an impression on the commander. This wasn’t a cadet standing before him, this was a soldier. He was proud of her.

“Well done,” he said, returning the salute Gunderson had originally offered him.

Movement behind Gunderson caught his attention and he looked up to see Janice Holt walking down the ramp towards him. He nodded to her respectfully.

“Mrs. Holt,” he said.

“Commander,” she replied. “I hope you don’t mind the intrusion.”

Iverson gave a slight shake of his head. “I don’t,” he said, lifting his gaze to the robot lion’s two large eyes. “But I expect an explanation for all this.”

“Look, you fucktard,” Pidge snapped, “you’d better make sure my Mom’s safe an-GAH!”

“Commander, you wouldn’t happen to have a bar of soap on hand, would you?” Janice said.

Iverson snorted. “Back in my room, I do,” he said.

“Could you go get it, please?” Janice asked sweetly. “I have to wash my daughter’s mouth out before she goes flying off to Neverland.”

“I am _not_ going to Neverland and I’m fine,” Pidge yelled, struggling to get free of her mother’s grasp on her arm.

“Be right back, ma’am,” Iverson said, turning and making his way back into his room to grab a bar of soap. When he returned to the green, there was a growing crowd of people on the grass coming out to stare and record what was going on. He handed the bar of soap to Janice, and said calmly, “Here you go.”

“Traito-MMHPH!”

Gunderson flailed and fought to escape the soapy bar in her mouth.

“Suck it up and take your punishment like a woman, Cadet,” Iverson said.

After a few seconds, Janice removed the soap bar and tossed it back to the commander. “Thank you,” she said, ignoring her daughter’s hacking and coughing from the horrible flavor.

“No problem, ma’am,” the commander said. “Will you be staying long?”

“I will be,” Janice said.

“But we won’t,” a new voice said followed by Hunk Palakiko joining the group. He looked tired. “We have to get back to the Castle. Our friend needs help.”

“Which one?” Iverson demanded.

“His name’s Keith,” Hunk said. “And we have to go,” he said, staring Gunderson in the eye. Gunderson growled in annoyance, only to cough and ruin the image.

“Then have a safe flight,” Iverson said.

“Thanks sir,” Hunk said, flashing the commander a grin and pulling a sloppy salute that would have earned him a stern talking to had they still been in the Garrison. “Come on, Pidge. Later, Mrs. Holt.”

“Fly safely,” Janice said, waving to Hunk. “Keep an eye on your friend,” she added. “He needs someone by him.”

“Yeah,” Hunk groaned. “Don’t I know it.”

“Katie,” Janice said, turning to her daughter. She kneeled and pulled her little girl into her arms, squeezing her tightly. “Be safe and bring back our family.”

Gunderson clung to her mother tearfully for a minute before letting her go and stepping back. “I’ll be back,” she said. “And I’ll have Matt and Dad with me. Just you wait.”

Janice smiled and ruffled her daughter’s hair before standing and stepping out of the lion’s mouth. When she was clear, the lion lifted its head and began closing. The last thing Iverson saw was Gunderson waving to her mother. If there were any tears on her face, the commander made no note of it.

“You did good, Katie,” he said softly. “We’ve got it from here.”

* * *

 

Coran combed through every available memory crystal he could get his hands on. There were quite a few, but none of them mentioned anything that could even remotely imply immortality was possible, let alone an actuality.

“Anything?” Shiro asked, holding the latest of a slew of slides holding memory storage crystals in his hand.

Coran sighed heavily. “No,” he said. “Nothing.” He placed the crystal in his hand back into its slot in the slide the black paladin held. “I’m not sure we’ll find anything about this. This was mostly hopeful inspection, more than anything else.”

Shiro pushed the slide of crystals back into its proper place before sighed and turning his gaze to the advisor. “So then why did you take me here?” he asked seriously.

Coran shrugged, which only served to rub the black paladin the wrong way.

“Coran,” he said. “What aren’t you telling me?”

The advisor stiffened and flushed obviously. “It’s nothing important,” he said. “I don’t think,” he added softly.

“If that’s true, then why won’t you tell me?” Shiro asked. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing,” Coran said, turning to the paladin. “Lance asked me give him some time alone is all.” He shrugged. “He needed to speak to Alfor, I believe. But…let’s just say it has something to do with Keith and leave it at that.”

Shiro’s eyes widened momentarily before narrowing. “This has something to do with the red Lion acting out,” he said in dawning comprehension. “What happened? Is everything alright?”

“To answer your first question,” Coran began, “I don’t know. Lance didn’t tell me exactly what happened, and I won’t break his confidence and tell you even if he did. If he wants to tell you, he will. Besides, I think Pidge and Hunk will be more than willing to fill us in on the full story when they get here.”

“What about Keith?” Shiro said suspiciously. “Why didn’t you mention Keith?”

The advisor sighed. “Because I’m not sure what state Keith will be in when he arrives,” he admitted reluctantly. “Like I said, I’m not sure what happened. I have an idea, but I don’t know the details or the circumstances. All I know for sure is that Keith won’t be well.”

“Then why are we in here instead of prepping a healing pod?” Shiro demanded in shock. “If Keith-”

“It wouldn’t help,” Coran said, his eyes sad. “What Keith is undoubtedly suffering from is nothing a healing pod can cure. It will take time and acceptance to fix this. It’s a matter of the heart, after all.” He crossed his arms and began strolling towards the door to the hallway. “As for your second question, everything is not alright, as I’m sure you were able to ascertain already.”

“What can I do to help?” Shiro asked.

Coran smiled and placed a hand on the black paladin’s shoulder. “Just don’t be too cruel to Lance when you see him,” he said. “That boy has a temper that is well-known in its destructiveness. If you remember from our impromptu eavesdropping of our favorite siblings’ fight, then you remember Lance’s gift of using words tailored to his opponent’s weaknesses as weapons. He doesn’t get angry often in the grand scheme of things, but this is, unfortunately, his own personal weakness. He’s aware of this weakness and tries to keep it under wraps, but no one is perfect.”

Coran tugged the paladin along so they walked together. “When I spoke to him last, he was having a breakdown,” he continued. “If he took my advice, then he should be speaking to former king Alfor right now.”

“But isn’t Allura with Alfor?” Shiro asked curiously.

“She said she would be,” Coran said casually. “But she could have finished by now. Or she’s still there and Lance is with her. I have no way of knowing and even if I did, I wouldn’t intrude. I suggest we wait until Pidge and Hunk return with Keith and the Red Lion before jumping to any conclusions.”

Shiro hesitated before nodding reluctantly. “I’ll head down to the Red Lion’s hangar and wait for them,” he said.

“I’ll come with you if you don’t mind,” Coran said as they rounded the corner and continued towards the lift. “I think we-”

* * *

 

Coran’s words were abruptly drowned out by a deafening rush of air that blasted the entire hallway and ripped Shiro off his feet. He managed to latch onto a metal beam with his Druid-enhanced hand, clamping onto it with its inhuman strength. But the wind never stopped howling and the pull never stopped tearing at his body. Alarms blared for a couple seconds before blubbering then falling silent altogether.

What in the hell was going on here?

Shiro looked down towards where the wind was blowing and gasped. The door to the airlock was wide open, dragging anything and everything not bolted to the ground out into the void. Before long, this entire corridor would be effectively space if they couldn’t shut that airlock in time.

They. Coran. Where was Coran?

Frantically, the black paladin turned his head looking for the Altean. There was no sign of him anywhere. But that meant…

Shiro stared at the gaping airlock in dismay. Steeling himself, he released his hold on the beam anchoring him in place and allowed himself to fly through the air towards the opening. His body struck the side of the hallway close to the airlock, tumbling before becoming airborne once again. He snatched another beam in his mechanical arm’s powerful grip and braced his feet on the doorjamb of the airlock.

It took some effort to use his precarious position to turn his body around so his head and torso were closest to the opening. He carefully leaned over the opening to see down the airlock tunnel. The darkness of space hung silent and looming at the far end of the tunnel, waiting to devour the air and interior of the Castle of Lions whole. Dangling from one of the protruding edges lining the tunnel, his feet kicking uselessly in the air and his grip weakening by the second, was Coran.

Shiro used his Druid-enhanced arm’s superior strength to ease himself down into the windstream and reach out to his friend.

“Coran!” he shouted, hoping his voice wasn’t lost to the howling wind.

“Shiro!” the advisor screamed, his eyes shining in fright. His voice was faint over the sound of the rushing air. It was getting harder to breathe. “Help. Please.”

“Grab my hand!” the black paladin shouted, holding out his free hand to the advisor.

He couldn’t get close enough to grab Coran alone. The Altean would have to sacrifice his grip in order to take Shiro’s hand and be lifted to safety. Shiro had to hope that Coran trusted him enough to let go and take his hand.

Coran tried, once. He barely managed to lift his right hand before snapping it back into place when his body slipped towards the void, weakening his already tenuous hold on the beam. “Pull me up,” he pleaded, his voice still faint.

Shiro shook his head. “I can’t reach,” he said. “You have to meet me halfway.”

“I can’t,” Coran said, shaking his head. “Shiro, I-”

“You can, Coran!” Shiro shouted. “You can and you will. Now grab my hand.”

“I’ll fall,” the advisor cried, shaking his head to clear his hair out of his gaze when it was blown into his face.

“You’ll die if you stay there,” Shiro shouted. “Trust me!”

The Altean winced but did not release his hold, clinging to the beam with all of his strength. For one terrifying moment, Shiro thought Coran would just hang there waiting to die. Then the advisor braced himself and kicked off the airlock wall, pushing himself up to the black paladin with all of his might. He swung out an arm wildly, and missed.

* * *

 

She adored Meserie. The stark difference between the sunward side and the dark side of the planet, both extremes that could kill almost every living being in the universe, with a single, narrow strip along the sunset that supported life. What a perfect metaphor for life. Balancing the dangers of defying the emperor of the Galra Empire while dealing directly with the emperor’s son was a glorious game of cat-and-mouse that thrilled her to no end.

The fact she profited from this venture quite handsomely certainly played a part in her enjoyment. Manufacturing the goods was costly and a pain, but with Lotor’s help, she had a steady stream of workers that could easily be replaced. As long as he kept his hands where they belonged, she got the money and power she’d been promised, which she was seeing fall into her lap with each passing day, she was perfectly happy with her situation.

Meserie, with its many denizens from so many planets, races, and species, was the perfect place to hide and deal. The lower levels were useful, but surprisingly they turned out the lowest profit. It never ceased to amaze her how many of the elite classes were willing to risk death just for a few hours of fun and games. She supposed power and money tended to dull the mind, with herself being the exception, of course.

A gargling squawk by her ear alerted her to her neglect. She reached up and soothed her precious companion’s feathers. The poor thing hated being ignored. Microraptors were known for their demanding attitudes. She couldn’t leave her pet alone for longer than a couple tecks before it became a destructive monstrosity that trashed everything in sight until it was back on her shoulder. She left it alone with anyone she despised.

It had garnered her a rather interesting reputation. That, paired with her minor telepathy, which was magnified by her microraptor’s presence, made her a shrewd dealer. Why try to double-cross a powerful person if she knew you were going to betray her in the first place? Of course, if they insisted, she wouldn’t stop them. At least, not by her own hand. She had to feed her pet somehow, right?

She stepped off the lift onto the skypath leading to the main tourist district for the higher echelons. Yet another perk of having the Galran prince as an ally, she got to stay in the best places. One of the hotel employees approached her and bowed respectfully.

“Welcome to The Mistro, Lady Merla,” he said.

Merla smiled, tilting her head so her long, red hair spilled over her shoulders like a lava flow. Her smile was enough to make the employee blush and rush to guide her to her rooms. It seemed The Mistro had hired new employees since she was last here. She looked forward to breaking them in.


	28. Azurite: enhances communication, guidance to psychic self, cuts through illusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shiro pulls off a miracle but suspects a curse and Keithek lives his worst nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** And with this, I'm going to bed. It has been a long and trying day emotionally, mentally, and physically. And I have work tomorrow. ...I hate my life right now.

He had a split second between the time he realized Coran wasn’t going to reach him and the time he decided that was unacceptable. Shiro grit his teeth and allowed his body to weaken so the rushing air could drag him down through the airlock towards Coran. He braced his feet so they caught the edge of the airlock outer door, stopping his fall just short of the point of no return. But it was enough. He caught Coran’s outstretched hand in his metal one.

“Climb up!” he shouted over the wind.

He wasn’t sure if the advisor nodded because he was too focused on holding their precarious position, preventing them from slipping further into the danger zone. But Coran did start trying to make his way up the black paladin’s body slowly but surely. Before long though, Shiro’s body began shaking from the strain. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth and focused all of his physical and mental energy on staying in place.

Then, as abruptly as the airlock opened, it closed. Unfortunately, because Shiro’s position had been approximately three feet above the floor, he promptly fell to the ground with a solid thud that knocked the wind out of him. He coughed and gasped until he could get enough air to satisfy his abused lungs.

“Shiro,” the advisor said, slumped weakly by the airlock’s main door which was still open. “Come on. Hurry.”

Shiro pushed himself up to his hands and knees and lifted his gaze to the far end of the airlock. The far door was shut but the secondary door Shiro had landed on as well as the main door Coran leaned against remained open. The black paladin crawled up to the hallway to join Coran as fast as he could manage with his shaking muscles. The advisor held out a weak hand to Shiro offering his help.

Shiro huffed and took the advisor’s offered hand using it to leverage himself out of the airlock and into the hallway. The moment he made it out of the airlock, Coran slapped a button on the panel next to the airlock door which immediately slammed shut. Both men collapsed against the wall gasping and shaking from adrenaline.

“That…” Coran said, “is not…something…I want to ever, _ever_ experience…again.”

Shiro said nothing. He just huffed a weak laugh and flashed a smile, letting his head bump against the wall behind him. He looked around, never happier to see the inside of the Castle of Lions when he noticed something at the far end of the hallway where it turned a corner to the lift. For a moment, Shiro could swear he saw the ghostly image of a man in white before it disappeared just as quickly.

But there was more. For that brief second the spectre had been visible, the light from it had reflected off something standing by the corner of the wall. It was dark and… Was that…

“Lance?” he said.

The form vanished leaving Shiro wondering what he had seen. Or, more accurately, why he had seen it. He had no doubt that it had been Lance standing there. He would recognize the glint of the prince’s cybernetic eye anywhere. It had a shine that reminded the black paladin too much of Sendak’s cybernetic implant for comfort. So why did Lance just stand there and not come to help?

“Something’s not right,” Shiro muttered under his breath.

“Mm? What is it Shiro?” Coran asked. The advisor studied the black paladin’s expression closely before following his gaze to the end of the hallway. When he didn’t see anything there, he furrowed his brow and looked back at Shiro in curiosity. “Shiro?”

“I saw Lance,” Shiro said, pushing himself to his feet, still staring at the corner. “He was standing right there.”

“Lance?” Coran asked, standing next to Shiro. “If he was there, then why didn’t he come help?”

“I don’t know,” the paladin said, striding quickly down the hall to the place he knew he’d seen the prince stand not moments before. “And there was something else.” He turned to the advisor and said seriously, “I saw a man. He looked like a ghost. His hair and clothes were white. I only saw him for a minute, but I saw him. Any ideas?”

“White…” Coran shook his head, then stopped. His eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. “But that’s… He shouldn’t be able to do that.”

“Do what?” Shiro demanded, facing the advisor fully. “Who shouldn’t be able to do what?”

“King Alfor,” Coran answered. “I believe the person you saw was the former king Alfor. But…” Coran shook his head in disbelief. “He shouldn’t be able to appear in his holographic form, or any form for that matter, outside of the holodeck. The memory core that holds Alfor’s quintessence is locked in the holodeck. The program shouldn’t allow for Alfor’s quintessence to leave there.”

“Well apparently that’s not true anymore,” Shiro said, looking at the spot where he’d seen Alfor’s spectral form. “I saw him. He was there. And Lance was here.” He pointed to the spot by the corner. “I saw the light from the former king’s hologram reflect off of Lance’s cybernetic eye.” He sighed. “Something’s not right about this.”

“If Lance was here when the airlock opened,” Coran said, “then he was probably trying to hold on and not be pulled out just like we were.” He saw the black paladin’s doubt and his gaze darkened. “Shiro,” he said in a stern voice, “I’ve known the prince all his life. Lance may be reckless but, above all, he is loyal. He would not deliberately harm anyone he cares about.”

“But you already told me Lance has a temper,” Shiro countered.

The advisor glared angrily. “Lashing out at someone and attempted murder are two _very_ different things, Takashi Shirogane,” he said in a cold voice that made the black paladin grimace. “Alteans view murder as one of the most terrible of offenses. Lance would _never_ stoop to that. Ever.”

Shiro flushed and looked back down the hallway where the lift light settled on the level where the bridge was located. “Let’s hope you’re right,” he said, beginning to walk towards the lift.

“Shiro,” Coran called, stopping the paladin in his tracks. “Lance has a good heart. I stand by him and so will Allura. Understand that if you turn on him, you’ll have all three of us against you.”

“Then let’s make sure to clear him of suspicion as soon as possible,” the black paladin said, pressing the button for the lift. “You coming?” he asked, turning back to the Altean advisor.

Coran hesitated. “Only to prove his innocence,” he said, before walking over to join Shiro.

Suddenly, a ding echoed through the hall from the speakers. Both Coran and Shiro looked up at the ceiling curiously.

“The Red Lion is returning,” the advisor said. “Let’s go to the Lion’s hangar first. Keith will need our help.”

“You can go,” Shiro said. “I’m going after-”

“You’re coming with me, Shiro,” Coran said firmly, stepping into the lift and pressing the button for the Red Lion’s hangar before Shiro could do otherwise. “Whether you like it or not.”

Shiro sighed as they rode in silence.

* * *

 

“How’s he doin’?” Pidge asked from her place on the other side of the pilot seat in the Red Lion’s cockpit.

Hunk brushed dark hair out of the red paladin’s face and sighed. “He’s asleep,” he said in relief. “Dude, what is going on with him?”

“I don’t know,” Pidge said, watching the Red Lion fly itself through the slipstream. “But whatever it is, it’s Lance’s fault and like hell I’m going to forgive that douchebag so easily.”

Hunk sighed and looked over to the green paladin. Pidge’s face was grim, her eyes narrowed in withheld fury. “What are we going to tell Shiro?” he asked hesitantly.

Pidge’s expression wavered. “I… I don’t know,” she admitted reluctantly. “Maybe Coran can explain what’s going on with Keith.” She glanced down at the now unconscious halfbreed in genuine worry. “He’ll be okay,” she said, more to convince herself than Hunk. “He’ll be okay.”

Hunk nodded and looked out the cockpit view screen. The tangled threads of light zipped by as they fly through the slipstream. Suddenly, an alarm dinged and the next thing they knew, the Red Lion exited the slipstream, slinging both paladins back to the floor at the back of the cockpit.

Pidge groaned and pushed herself up. Keith was bracing himself with on hand on the pilot seat and Hunk was clutching one of the joint on the wall of the- Keith was holding on to something. He was _awake!_

“Keith!” she cried sitting up as quickly as she could.

Hunk also sat up in surprise. Both paladins watched as Keith silently pulled himself up and sat down in the pilot’s seat. He took the controls and pushed the throttles forward guiding the Red Lion into a fast dive towards the Castle of Lions, shining white and sleek just below the rings of Saturn. He dove through one of the breaks in the rings created by a small shepherd moon and pulled up to fly towards the Red Lion’s hangar.

“Keith?” Hunk called, standing. “Are you alright?” He walked slowly up to his friend and reached out to touch the red paladin’s shoulder.

“Don’t.”

The word was short and curt, but effective. The yellow paladin obediently backed off, sadness in his eyes. Pidge grabbed a handful of Hunk’s shirt and tugged him towards her, away from Keith.

“It’s okay,” she said softly.

Hunk and Pidge watched in silence as Keith flew the Red Lion towards the Castle gently. The Red Lion’s hangar was still wide open. It probably hadn’t been closed after the Lion left in what Pidge suspected had been a hurry. Keith eased the Lion into its hangar, landed it gently. He sighed when the Red Lion settled on the floor of the hangar and waited for the hangar door to close.

* * *

 

Keithek stood quietly and made his way around the pilot seat to the exit with Hunk and Pidge at his heels. As he walked down the ramp in the Red Lion’s mouth, he couldn’t find the energy to lift his gaze and his gate was slow and heavy. He stepped out onto the open floor, stumbling when he missed a step.

The hand that caught him wasn’t warm and living. It was cold and metal. Keithek blinked and straightened, avoiding the black paladin’s eyes. He nodded in a vague thank you, looking down. He felt tired and drained.

The cold stone that formed in his gut when his ma- when Lance rejected him had grown to the point where he could barely feel his legs. He was aware they were there and that he could move them, but it took effort and energy which he was having a hard time mustering. It felt like his lower body was as heavy as lead and as cold as ice. He just wished…

He just wished it was the ice belonging to the blue paladin that he’d grown to crave. That ice, while cold, was still paradoxically warm and welcoming. It made him  _want_ like he’d never wanted before. The thought of losing that ice, those mismatched blue eyes, that flirtatious smile, and that beautiful heart… It left him feeling empty and listless, balancing at the edge of a precipice, and just waiting to fall.

“Keith.”

He jolted, lifting his head up. He felt so heavy.

“Are you okay?”

Shiro.

“I’m…”

“Say ‘fine’ and I may have to hurt you,” Pidge said from somewhere to Keithek’s left.

Keithek sighed. “I feel… detached,” he said.

“Keith.” That was Coran. Sure enough, the Altean advisor’s face appeared in Keithek’s vision. “I need you to listen carefully. Whatever Lance said, it wasn’t true. You don’t have to take my word for it, but please let Lance explain himself.”

Lance. The emptiness suddenly loomed that much closer, threatening to overwhelm him entirely.

“We need to get him to the healing pod,” Hunk said.

“No,” Shiro interjected.

Keithek blinked, trying to keep his thoughts in the here and now. It was so hard not to drift.

“The malfunctions are getting serious,” Shiro continued. “We were almost sucked out of an airlock.”

Keithek lifted his head, his ears twitching in the black paladin’s general direction with interest.

“What?” Hunk cried.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Pidge said.

“Lance,” Keithek murmured. Was Lance alright? Where was he? He wasn’t hurt, was he?

He cringed and clamped his hands over his sensitive ears when a blaring alarm suddenly flooded the speakers of the hangar. He couldn’t stop a pathetic whimper from slipping out when the alarm continued to blare.

“No,” Coran cried. “That’s not possible. She wouldn’t do that without warning us first.”

“She? You mean Allura?” Pidge asked in confusion.

It hurt. The alarm hurt. Make it stop.

“She wouldn’t do what?” Hunk asked.

“Make it stop,” Keithek whispered, his eyes tearing as the blaring sound continued to assault his ears. It was starting to give him a headache.

“It’s Allura,” Coran said. “She’s opening a wormhole.”

 _“That’s_ what that alarm is for?” Hunk gasped. “Does it go off whenever she opens a wormhole?”

“Make it stop,” Keithek murmured.

“No, it doesn’t,” Coran said.

It sounded like the advisor was moving away as he spoke. Keithek couldn’t tell. He could barely lift his head as the deafening klaxon filled his ears.

“It only sounds when a wormhole is opened without following certain safety procedures,” Coran said.

The black paladin’s metal arm tightened its hold on Keithek’s arm and began tugging him forward. He stumbled over his heavy, numb feet and one of his hands came free of his ear. He cried out and fought against Shiro’s hold, trying to pull his hand back and cover his ringing ear.

“Make it _stop!”_ he screamed over the alarm.

“We have to get to the bridge,” he heard Coran say in a nervous voice. “Once we get there, the alarm shouldn’t be as loud.”

“Can we turn it off from there?” Pidge asked.

“We can, yes,” the advisor confirmed. “But we have to _get there_ first. Come on.”

Keithek winced but allowed himself to be hauled along as fast as his leaden feet could carry him. He almost collapsed to his knees when the lift moved upwards. As it was, he felt Shiro wrap and arm around his shoulders to help support him.

“Keith,” the black paladin called. “Hang in there. We’re almost there.”

Keithek managed a sad excuse of a nod. Then the pull towards the lift floor ceased and the door opened. The others in their group hurried out and ran down the hallway. Shiro lingered, taking his time helping the pathetically feeble red paladin hobble along behind. Normally, Keithek would have felt shame for his weakness. But right now, all he could think about was the emptiness filling his gut, the unwelcome ice creeping up his torso towards his heart, and the never-ending repetition of Lance’ s name in his head.

He noticed when they entered the bridge however. The ambient lighting around him changed, brightening to a starry white from the cool turquoise of the hallway. He heard gasps and tried to find the strength to look up and see what he was missing.

“Allura!” Shiro called in a desperate voice. Was that fear as well? “What’s going on?”

“Lance! Where are we going?” Coran shouted, sounding distraught. There was definitely fear.

Keithek braced himself, drawing on every ounce of strength he could muster and lifted his head. He removed his hands from his ears when he realized there was no alarm on the bridge. However, from what he could see, there was no need for an alarm. Everything looked calm, normal even. Except that the princess was wearing what looked like night clothes and the prince, Lance, was standing beside her, close to her.

Both Altean royal siblings’ backs were to Keithek, but when Coran and Shiro called out, Allura did look over her shoulder.

“We’re going to Altea,” she said. Her voice had a dreamy lilt to it, almost as if she was in a trance. “We’re going home.”

“Allura, stop,” Coran said. “Altea is gone. Why are you doing this?”

“Allura, you have to stop!” Shiro shouted.

“Lance!” Pidge shouted loudly. “Lance, you fucking son of a bitch, make your sister stop this ship.”

“Allura!” Shiro called, releasing his hold on Keithek’s arm and racing to the pedestal on which Lance and Allura stood. “Allura sto-”

_“Stay away from my children!”_

A particle barrier much like the one that had been used to imprison Sendak right before Keithek killed him suddenly materialized around the pedestal just as Shiro reached it. Unable to stop in time, the black paladin slammed into the barrier and was thrown back to the bridge floor, sliding along the smooth surface and gasping.

“HOLY FRAKING QUIZNAK!” Pidge shouted.

“What the heck is going on?” Hunk cried, looking around them.

Keithek could barely believe his weary eyes either. Every single visible view screen was filled with the face of Alfor, Lance’s father. The man who’d given Lance and Keithek his blessing before Keithek made love to Lance the first time. The memory made his face burn in shame and longing.

But whereas before, Alfor had been kind and smiled, this Alfor’s expression was vicious and angry, almost hateful.

“Coran, what’s going on?” Hunk asked again.

“It’s the infection from the Galra crystal,” the advisor said. “The perverted quintessence must have infiltrated King Alfor’s memory core and corrupted it.”

“Great. Okay. So how do we fix that?” the yellow paladin demanded, his face whipping from view screen to view screen in growing horror.

“We have to stop them,” Shiro said, getting back to his feet.

“Lance?” Keithek whispered.

 _"Sentinel,”_ Alfor’s voice said over the bridge’s speakers. _“Intruders threaten your Heir. Do not let them touch her.”_

The prince turned from the front of the bridge to face Coran and the other paladins. Keithek flinched when he saw the prince’s eyes. There was something…off about them. Lance stepped down from the pedestal and right through the particle barrier, leaving his sister to pilot the Castle of Lions. In his place, a hologram of former King Alfor appeared by Allura’s side.

“Lance,” Keithek called.

“Galra,” the prince hissed, dropping to a defensive pose.

Keithek flinched at the word, his ears folding back against his head. “Lance?” he called, reaching out to his mate longingly. There was something… Lance smelled…wrong. “Lance?”

 _“Do your duty, Sentinel,”_ Alfor’s voice commanded. It sounded…garbled somehow.

However, before Lance could attack, the Castle broke free of the wormhole, bursting into an unknown star system. The parent star blazed blindingly through the view screens, tinting everything a hot gold. But the Castle didn’t stop moving. It wasn’t moving at top speed anymore, but it continued to advance towards the star. But there was something about this star…

“We’re heading right for the star,” Pidge said in dawning horror, “and I think it’s going to explode.”

“We have to stop it!” Hunk cried.

Then, as quickly as the image of the star appeared, it vanished. The image that replaced it was of a sparkling world covered in sapphire blue oceans and emerald land. Slender arms of silvery-white glittered as they orbited the planet.

“Altea,” Coran breathed in shock.

Shiro grit his teeth. “It’s not real,” he said. “Lance, this isn’t real. You have to stop this!”

Lance just narrowed his eyes and leapt forwards, ready to attack.

“Lance!” Keithek cried.


	29. Azurite-Malachite: cleanses negative thought, aids in clarity and understanding with visions, & initiates transformation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the battle begins and Allura learns something terrible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Hope y'all enjoy and sleep well. I'm crashing now. I've only had 5 hours of sleep over the past 48 hours. Not on purpose. Yesterday and last night were trying and I think I channeled some of that angst into this chapter so... Yeah, be prepared. ^_^
> 
>  **Side note:** If anyone needs a reference to how Lance is fighting in this chapter, watch the battle between Keith and the Druid in episode 10 _Collection and Extraction._ The whys and hows that Lance is able to use all of that power when he never exhibited it before will be explained in a later chapter. It's a plot point. ^_~

He was fast. That was the first thing Shiro thought when Lance leapt at them. The black paladin had fought side-by-side with the Altean prince on numerous occasions, both in the training arena and on the battlefield. But he had never seen Lance move so fast before. He barely had time to raise his arms in self-defense before Lance was upon him. He was expecting the punch, but he did not expect the sheer force backing the punch.

When his attack was halted, Lance tried again. But each time, Shiro blocked him. The prince’s brows drew down and his eyes narrowed in frustration. He tried again, but this time, instead of merely blocking the blow, Shiro caught Lance’s wrist. He used the prince’s momentum to spin him around wrenching the offending arm at a painful angle behind Lance’s back.

“Lance, stop,” Shiro commanded. “We’re your friends.”

Instead of calming, the prince turned his head and spat in Shiro’s face. Then he vanished. Thrown by the abrupt loss of weight in his hands, Shiro blinked and stared at his empty arms in confusion. When he did look up, however, it was just in time to take a kick to the chest that propelled him through the air. He grunted in pain when his back slammed against the wall behind him knocking the wind out of him. He staggered but managed to stay on his feet.

That shouldn’t be possible. Lance’s physique was too slim to be able to pack the amount of force he’d just exhibited. It wasn’t natural. In fact, for a moment it almost felt like Shiro was back in the gladiator arena. Shiro shook his head to clear it and focused his gaze on the expanse of the bridge between himself and Allura. He had to stop this.

Unfortunately, it seemed Lance was driven to be sure that didn’t happen. Lance was busy dodging every attack thrown at him from Hunk and Pidge. Hunk slung his fist, only to overbalance and fall forward when Lance suddenly wasn’t there. The next second, Lance materialized behind the yellow paladin, kicking Hunk’s behind finishing off what little hold Hunk had on balance.

Shiro could barely believe his eyes. For a second, Lance had simply vanished into thin air. He was there one second and gone the next. There was no way Lance or anyone could move that fast. But the only other explanation was teleportation whether through a device or personal power. How was that even possible? This wasn't Star Trek.

Was it?

Lance tilted his head, his expression smoothing into an impassive mask that Shiro recognized from… He’d seen people wear that expression before. Many people. They’d been…

Shiro’s thoughts screeched to a stop when he heard what he could only call a war cry. He turned his head to the cry and pushed off the wall, pressing a hand against his bruised chest. Pidge was charging directly at the prince at top speed. Her bayard materialized in her hand, buzzing with electric energy as she ran.

“Pidge, watch out!” he shouted.

Lance didn’t appear bothered by the green paladin’s advance at all. He gave the girl a look Shiro could only describe as disdainful and swept his arm out towards her. The air tingled with power instants before a bolt of purple-tinged, white energy shot from the prince’s palm, striking the green paladin square in the chest. She screamed as she was thrown back, landing hard on the floor, sliding across the tiles still clutching her bayard.

“Lance?” Coran gasped, backing away when the prince turned his attention to the advisor.

“That’s enough, Lance!” Shiro said fiercely, pushing away from the wall. “If you want to fight,” he activating his Druid-enhanced arm, “then you fight us. Leave Coran out of it.”

Lance gave Shiro a once over before dismissing him entirely, choosing instead to continue his advance on the advisor. Then he vanished, reappearing inches from Coran’s face. The advisor barely had time to cry out before two hands gripped his throat and squeezed, cutting off his airway. Desperately, Coran tried to dig his fingers between his throat and Lance’s hands.

“Lance, stop!” Shiro cried.

“Shiro, get down!” Hunk shouted.

Shiro didn’t question the order. He hit the floor immediately just as burst of yellow energy blasted through the space he’d just occupied. If the prince had looked up, he would have seen the attack coming and dodged. He didn’t. The blast blindsided him, sending him flying. His body struck one of the control panels lining the walls of the bridge and crumbled limply to the floor.

 _“No!”_ Keith screamed.

* * *

 

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “Just as beautiful as I remember it.”

“Yes,” her father said, resting a loving hand on her shoulder. “And unchanged.”

He swept out his hand and Allura’s face brightened with joy. Stretched out before her was a plain of grass and stones speckled with juniberry flowers in full bloom. Several small ponds dotted the expanse. They were shallow, filled with rainwater and water condensed from the clouds that regularly engulfed this field. But there were no clouds today. Far above, the Daystar shone, reflecting off of the Alteanoid-made rings orbiting Altea.

“The fields outside the capitol,” Allura whispered in awe, covering her mouth with her hands as tears of joy streamed down her face. “I’m home.” She fell to her knees in the green grass gently waving in the breeze. “Lance should be here,” she said, plucking a juniberry flower and holding it up to watch the petals flutter in the breeze. “Lance and Coran both.”

“They’ll come soon enough,” her father said. “Everyone ends up here in time.”

* * *

 

Shiro got to his feet and ran to where Coran had fallen, coughing, and gasping for air. He grabbed the advisor’s shoulder and dragged him away from the prince’s body, keeping his weaponized hand activated. The prince was still moving, which meant he was still a threat.

“Shiro,” Hunk said, staring at his friend with wide eyes, “what are we supposed to do? How do we stop him?”

The black paladin hesitated. He didn’t want to hurt the prince. Lance had been a vivacious member of their team. He’d wormed his way into their hearts before they even had the chance to stop and consider the consequences of that. But now he was the enemy.

“If we lose this battle,” Shiro said grimly, “then Allura will fly this ship into that star and kill us all.” He glanced at the princess who stood on the pedestal talking animatedly with her father.

“But if we win,” Hunk said, swallowing thickly, “then Lance will die.”

Shiro tightened his jaw as he tried to come up with a plan. He glanced to his side and saw Pidge. She was on her hands and knees, but Rover was hovering by her shoulder. The hoverbot must have been drawn by the racket they were no doubt causing. She lifted her head and met the black paladin’s eyes. She was ready to fight.

But Keith was not. Shiro looked towards the entrance to the bridge and saw the red paladin leaning on a control panel and shivering. Keith was in no shape to fight. Shiro may not have known what happened to put the halfbreed in such a state, but he knew it involved Lance.

Speaking of, he looked back at the prince and scowled. “Coran,” he said. “If we can keep Lance busy, could you try to snap Allura out of whatever’s going on?”

“I…” The advisor looked at the princess sadly. “I’ll do my upmost best,” he promised.

“Good enough,” Shiro said, lifting his arm in an attack position. “Paladins, take him out!”

 _“I said,”_ the voice of Alfor’s memory said, causing the paladins to tense, _“stay away from my children!”_

Something like purple-tinted gold energy wafted from the Castle’s consoles to the prince who soaked it in with a sigh. The black paladin’s gasped and Hunk lowered his bayard in shock as the burns and bruises from his bayard’s blast healed right before their eyes.

"What the hell?” Shiro murmured.

“He studied under the Druids, Shiro,” Coran said. “I told you what he’s capable of.”

“Druids?” Keith said, lifting his head to watch Lance.

“Fight him like you fight a Druid,” Coran said.

Shiro racked his brain for any memories of fighting the Druids in the arena during his time as a prisoner of the Galra. He could only see snatches of images, catches of thoughts, but nothing solid. What the hell. When in doubt?

“Hunk,” he said. “Fire on my mark.”

“What?” Keith gasped. “No. No, you can’t. You can’t hurt him.”

“Keith, stay where you are,” Shiro commanded firmly. “Hunk?” He raised his flesh arm, ready to signal the yellow paladin.

Hunk gulped and lifted his bayard so it aimed directly at Lance. This wasn’t what he signed up for. This wasn’t right. This shouldn’t be happening. He didn’t want to shoot his friend. He couldn’t do it. Using the low power setting had been bad enough. He didn't know what would happen if he used a higher setting.

He opened his mouth to say so when…

_“So this is what it has come to.”_

Shiro froze. It couldn’t be.

_“You focused all of your attention on finding Zarkon’s weakness when you should have been paying more attention to your own.”_

“I know that voice,” Pidge growled.

“Sendak!” Shiro roared in fury.

The voice over the speakers laughed. _“Look at you. Ready to kill your companion for doing what he thinks is right without regard for his well-being. How very Galra of you.”_

“What have you done, Sendak?” Shiro demanded.

“Yes, what have you done to Lance and Allura?” Coran demanded from his place behind Shiro, a hand gingerly rubbing his neck.

_“Like I told the little prince, I have done nothing. I merely struck a match. It was you who allowed the flames to grow. You who allowed it to progress to this point.”_

“Don’t listen to him, Shiro,” Pidge said fiercely, hefting her bayard as she got to her feet. “He’s a lying bastard.”

 _“If you don’t believe me,”_ Sendak’s voice drawled, _“then why ask me?”_

Shiro grit his teeth. “Coran, get Allura out of there.”

“Right!” the advisor said, rushing to the particle barrier surrounding the pedestal Allura knelt on.

 _“Save the Heir, let the Sentinel die.”_ The smirk was audible in the Galra’s voice. _“You see now, little prince. You were born only to die.”_

The stream of tainted energy flowing to the prince’s body slowed to a stop. The paladins braced themselves for an attack, but it never came. Lance just stood there unmoving.

* * *

 

Allura sighed, letting her hand holding the juniberry stem drop to her lap following it with her gaze. “I wish Lauma and Aldrun were here,” she murmured. “Alwida and Latif too. And mother.”

“We’ll see them soon,” her father said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She rested her cheek on her father’s hand and closed her eyes. “Lauma would have enjoyed this,” she said. “She loved playing here with me when we were children.”

_“..lura…”_

She opened her eyes and lifted her head, looking around her curiously.

“What is it, daughter?” her father asked gently, squeezing her shoulder.

“I thought I heard-”

_“Allura!”_

She tensed when something flickered to her left. It almost looked…like a person. “Hello?” she called. “Is someone there?”

“There’s no one there, child,” Alfor said, leaning over to give his daughter a strange look. “Are you feeling well?”

Allura met her father’s gaze and felt something… “I…I suppose I’m a bit tir-”

_“Allura! It’s not real!”_

This time, she looked up as soon as she heard the voice. She was just in time to catch a glimpse of Coran flashing in and out of visibility like an error in a holodeck.

“Coran?” she asked.

“The scent of the juniberries must be getting to you,” her father said, standing. “Come now. Let’s go rest.”

“But I don’t-”

 _“Where **is** the scent of the juniberry, Allura!?”_ Coran cried. _“It’s not real.”_

“It _is_ real, Allura,” her father said.

Allura stilled. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning to look up to her father. “I thought no one was there,” she said steadily. “Father, where is Coran? Where is Lance? Where is my brother?”

Her father’s face crumbled into sadness. He moved his hand from Allura’s shoulder to her hair, stroking it tenderly. “Oh, my dear daughter,” he said, gazing into the princess’s eyes brokenly. “You were our last hope.”

Allura frowned in confusion. Her mind felt muddled as if filled with clouds.

“You were that last of the pure,” he said. “With you, we could have created a whole new Altea safe from all Galra interference. We could have lived peacefully with you as the Heir and Lance as your Sentinel. But now even he’s dirtied himself beyond saving. Sleeping with a halfbreed was despicable. For him to lower himself to that…” Alfor shook his head. “I cannot believe he is my son.”

“Wha-” Allura stared at her father in dismay. “What are you saying?” She shook her head. “This isn’t you.”

“It was all Lauma’s fault,” the former king said mournfully, running his fingers through Allura’s hair oblivious to his daughter’s growing discomfort. “How could I choose her to be your Sentinel when she’d dirtied herself so much? And now Lance has betrayed us. You. He has betrayed you.”

“No,” Allura said softly but firmly. “He hasn’t betrayed me. He would never betray me.”

Alfor shook his head in denial. “No, no, you don’t understand,” he said. “He isn’t pure anymore. He cannot be your Sentinel. He would sooner leave you to die than leave that filthy Galra he calls a mate.”

“He won’t betray me,” Allura said sternly, glaring at her the thing that wore her father’s face. “Just like you aren’t my father. My father was a good man. He would never say anything like that.”

 _“Allura!”_ Coran continued to shout.

She leaned away from the false Alfor’s touch, only to feel the fingers tightened painfully ripping a cry from her throat. Alfor yanked Allura’s head back, exposing her throat. She grunted but forced her eyes open to glare at the monster wearing her father’s face.

“You don’t understand,” the thing said, still gazing at the princess in pity. “He cannot be your Sentinel.”

“You’re dead,” she hissed. “And even if you _were_ alive, that’s no longer your decision to make.”

“There’s where you’re wrong,” the thing said in a mockery of gentleness. “I gave him the title of Sentinel.” He shook his head. “I may not be able to take it back now, but I can make sure he doesn’t keep it.” He brushed his thumb over Allura’s cheek. “I’m doing this for you. I’m doing this to protect you.”

“You’re not protecting me,” Allura snapped in fury. “You’re doing this because you’re a monster.”

“The Sentinel _must_ choose his Heir over any and all else _without exceptions,”_ the false Alfor said desperately. “He won’t choose you,” he said, shaking his head. “He won’t. Not anymore. That’s not acceptable. He swore an oath. He’s broken that oath. The penalty for that is death.”

Allura’s eyes widened in horror. “That’s not true,” she whispered. “That’s not true,” she said louder. “Alteans never kill as a punishment.”

“This is an exception.”

“There _is_ no exception,” Allura cried, fear gripping her heart. “No true Altean would do what you’re suggesting.”

“I _am_ a true Altean,” the illusion shouted in her face, his eyes wide and wild. “I protect the Heir.”

 _“You’re_ not my Sentinel,” Allura shouted back. _“Lance_ is. I’ll die before I accept another in his place.”

The false Alfor shook his head, distraught. “You can’t think like this,” he pleaded. “You can’t talk like this. You are the Heir-”

“Yes!” Allura snapped. _“I_ am the Heir. And my word is final on this. You will not touch my brother or Coran or any one of my paladins. If you do, I’ll destroy you.”

“You can’t do that,” the monster said, smiling down at her sadly. “You don’t have it in you. And even if you did, I control this ship.” He laughed breathlessly. “I control the Castle of Lions. I won’t let you kill me.”

He pressed his lips together in a grim smile, pressing a delicate kiss on the princess’s forehead, heedless of her struggles and attempts to push him away.

“You are my Heir and I will make sure you live,” he swore. “I’ll wipe out anyone not pure enough to stand in your presence. I’ll be your Sentinel until a suitable replacement can be found.”

“Frak you, I don’t need anyone but my brother!” Allura shouted.

The monster leaned back and gazed down at the struggling princess sadly. “I see Lance has already begun to dirty you,” he murmured. “Just like Lauma did. I have to deal with this quickly.”

“So what if he picks Keith over me!” Allura screamed furiously. “He’s allowed to live his own life. You lived yours,” she said viciously. “You have no right to end his or dictate mine.”

“You _must_ live,” Alfor said, jerking the princess abruptly in emphatically. “You _must!_ If the Galra are to be destroyed, then _you_ have to be the one to do it. You’re the only one pure enough. Lauma dirtied herself when she bedded that vermin and now Lance is doing the same thing. I will _not_ let their filth dirty you.”

“I’m not pure,” Allura said, fighting tears as her hair was ripped out by the roots from the monster’s grip. “You’re disgusting.”

“I’ll prove it to you,” the false Alfor said, his eyes alight with a sickening fire. “I’ll show you. I’ll prove to you Lance isn’t worthy of being your Sentinel. I’ll show you how filthy he is. You’ll see and then you’ll understand.”

He placed another kiss on her forehead that made her skin crawl and tossed her out of the illusion and through the particle barrier.

She landed on her side, wincing as several hairs ripped out of her head, still tangled around her father’s fingers. She gasped and sat up, turning her gaze to where her father’s memory stood and was blinded by a golden-red light that cast harsh shadows across the bridge. She blinked rapidly, trying to let her eyes adjust to the intense brightness. When she could see again, she removed her hand and her breath left her.

Hovering directly in the path of the Castle of Lions was a star at the end of its life. She could feel its quintessence spooling up like a bomb waiting to go off. The star would explode in a final burst of brilliance, a final declaration that it had lived, that it was here, before vanishing forever. Her heart dropped as fear began to overwhelm her.

“That’s not Altea,” she whispered.


	30. Fire Opal: aids in release of anger, recalls past lives, faithfulness, helps with eyesight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Keith has a breakdown and a war for control begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** This chapter simply did not want to be written. It was like pulling healthy teeth out of healthy gums, I swear. At one point it took me an hour to write 100 words. Dang characters and their conflicting desires.

“That’s not true.”

“Keith, stay back,” Shiro said firmly.

“It’s not true!” Keithek shouted, pushing himself away from the console he was leaning against. “Lance. Lance, that’s not true.”

“Keith, stay back!” Shiro commanded louder.

“Quiznak you!” Keithek shouted, shooting a furious glare at the black paladin. “You were ready to kill him,” he breathed, stumbling to the still unmoving prince. “Like frell I’m going to listen to you.”

“Keith, he’s dangerous,” Shiro said, trying to explain.

“We’re _all_ dangerous,” Keithek snapped, turning to face Shiro directly, staggering when he moved too quickly and almost lost his balance. His legs were still having trouble obeying his mental commands. “We fly giant Lions that form the ultimate weapon in the universe, Voltron. We are _all_ dangerous.”

_“I’d listen to the halfbreed, if I were you.”_

“Shut up!” Keithek screamed, clapping his hands over his ears and shaking his head to block out Sendak's voice. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! This is all your fault! I killed you! You should be dead! Why aren’t you dead? Why don’t you just _die?!”_

“Keith-”

“Shut _up!”_ Keithek snapped, instantly silencing Hunk. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you _dare!”_ He glared with narrowed gold and violet eyes. “You tried to stop Shiro when he attacked me the day we met. So why won’t you do the same thing for Lance?”

“Why are you defending him?” Pidge yelled angrily, standing. “Even after all he did to you, you’re still defending him.”

“He’s my mate,” Keithek said wearily. “I have to.”

“That’s not healthy,” Pidge said seriously. “That’s abuse.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Keithek said, slowly moving backwards step by wobbly step until he stood between the prince and the paladins. “You don’t understand. It doesn’t matter. You can’t hurt him.”

“He deserves it!”

“Pidge!” Shiro said sharply.

“No, he _doesn’t!”_ Keithek said.

“Keith,” Shiro said, holding out his hands in a placating manner. “I promise you, we won’t hurt Lance. But you have to move.”

“I won’t.”

“Keith, ple-”

“I won’t!” The red paladin was shaking. “I don’t understand. _You_ don’t understand _."_   Tears streamed down his eyes. “He’s my mate. I can’t let him die.”

“Why not?” Pidge asked hesitantly.

Keithek hesitated, letting out a huff that was more sob than sigh. “Because… if he dies, so do I,” he said. “I can’t lose him.”

“What?” Hunk breathed in the suddenly silent room. “What do you me-”

Something bright flashed next to them, accompanied by what sounded like electricity sparking, yanking everyone’s attention away from Lance and Keithek. Unfortunately, no one reacted fast enough to catch the princess before she crashed to the ground in what looked like a painful sprawl. Then the false image of the sparkling blue planet filling the bridge’s many view screens vanished, revealing the devastating truth.

“That’s not Altea,” Allura whispered.

“Princess!” Shiro cried, racing to her side, only to stop short when Lance appeared between them. He activated his weaponized hand and crouched. “Lance, don’t hurt her.”

“Lance?” Keithek called. “Come back.”

“Lance?” the princess gasped, turning around so she could see her brother standing directly behind her. She quickly got to her feet and grabbed her brother’s shoulders and tried to turn him around. But he shook off her attempt, continuing to stare at the black paladin with an unreadable gaze. “Lance, look at me. Lance? Lance!”

“Princess,” Coran said, taking one of Allura’s hands in his and pulling her away. “Lance isn’t in his right mind right now.”

Allura spun to her advisor, mouth open in shock. “What?” she gasped. “What do you mean?”

“It’s the warped quintessence from the Galra crystal,” he replied. “It must have corrupted Alfor’s memory core and then leaked into Lance.”

“But…how?” Allura murmured. She shook her head.

 _“You’re the Heir,”_ Sendak’s voice said, making Keithek stiffen. _“Don’t you know what drives a Sentinel?”_

“Sendak,” the princess growled furiously. “Whatever you’ve done to my father’s memory, stop it at once!”

 _“I grow tired of repeating myself,”_ the Galra said, sounding put out. _“I only started these events. It was you and your foolishness which allowed it to reach this point.”_

“If you started it, then make it stop,” Pidge said.

Sendak’s voice laughed. _“I couldn’t stop it now if I wanted to.”_

Allura hissed in annoyance. “Then you’re useless to me,” she said dismissively. “Paladins, something’s wrong with Father. He’s gone mad.”

“We figured,” Hunk said grimly.

“If Coran’s right and it is the warped quintessence,” Pidge said, "then it’s acting like a virus. It’ll infect anything it can get to.”

“And Lance just drew on the Castle’s quintessence to heal himself,” Coran murmured, lifting his distraught gaze to the young prince’s face. “By the Lions,” he murmured. “What has he done?”

“Nothing!” Keithek said. “He hasn’t done anything. That isn’t Lance.”

“Silence! All of you!” Allura cried, effectively quieting everyone. “Right now, we need to focus on stopping this Castle before it flies into that star. If we don’t do something to stop this, we’ll all die here. Shiro,” she said, causing the black paladin to straighten, “go down to the prison pod level and do whatever you need to to stop Sendak. Pidge, Hunk, I need you t-”

She stopped when a hand grabbed her wrist in a painful grip. She looked down at her hand then followed the arm up to her brother’s face. “Lance?” she asked carefully.

_“I can’t let you do that, Allura.”_

Keithek’s eyes grew wide when the voice of Alfor came over the speakers instead of Sendak’s. “Let him go,” he pleaded. “Let him go!” he said louder.

 _“Silence, filthy halfbreed,”_ Alfor said, his holographic form on the pedestal turning to the stunned red paladin. _“Your kind are nothing but a scourge to be eliminated.”_

“That’s not true!” Allura said angrily. “Keith, don’t listen to him. It’s the warped quintessence. That’s not my father. Those aren’t his words.”

“Well,” Hunk murmured to Pidge next to him, “at least as long as they’re talking, the Castle’s not moving.” The green paladin shrugged slightly but nodded in careful relief. Shiro’s gaze flickered to the yellow paladin in silent agreement.

“I’ll go deal with Sendak,” the black paladin said. “Hunk, Pidge, protect the princess.”

“Damn it,” Keithek murmured. “Don’t fraking ignore me!”

Heat like nothing he’d never felt before suddenly blazed in his core, setting fire to his nerves and bleeding his vision red. The cold that had been ever so slowly freezing him from the feet up melted under the onslaught of heat and rage. In the back of his mind, he heard a furious roar. Then all conscious thought left him.

* * *

 

“Keith?” Hunk gasped.

The red paladin didn’t respond. He was no longer capable of responding it seemed. The violet of his irises disappeared, swallowed whole by his ebony pupils. He growled and raced across the floor at Shiro, a hateful expression on his face.

 _“So it begins,”_ Sendak’s memory said, a note of pride in his voice.

“Protect the princess!” Shiro shouted.

 _“Sentinel,”_ Alfor’s holographic form said, _“destroy that thing before it kills the Heir.”_

“Ignore that order, Lance,” Allura said loudly. _“I_ am your Heir and you are _my_ Sentinel. You don’t answer to anyone but me. Stop listening to that monster. He’s not our father.”

The prince twitched, torn between the two conflicting commands. The odd look in his eyes flickering.

 _“That was an order, Sentinel,”_ Alfor said louder. _“Stop that monster!”_

“You will do no such thing, Lance,” Allura said louder. “You will listen to _me_. Do not listen to that thing. It is _not_ our father and you will _not_ obey it. Is that clear?”

The prince began shaking, confusion becoming evident in his expression. He blinked. Keith was in the middle of attacking the other paladins in a rage. The look in the halfbreed’s eyes was the same as when Keith attacked him in the pod before his destructive temper took over.

_“Kill him, Sentinel.”_

Father?

“Do not!”

Allura? What?

 _“Obey me, Sentinel!”_ Alfor’s voice said, ringing in Lance’s head. _“Do your duty and get rid of that creature. Protect your Heir.”_

Lance blinked, his head twitching side to side in a minute shudder. This was wrong. He felt sick to his stomach. He entire body ached and it felt like sludge was flowing through his veins. It felt…surprisingly good. It was a rush that left him gasping and needing more. It was addicting. It was dangerous.

Something shining like strands of golden thread flickered in the corner of his eye, just barely visible, but he couldn’t turn his head to look at it. The quintessence filling him made his skin dance with sensitivity. It felt like lightning during a storm. Gold. He had to obey. But which command? Shining.

_“Obey me, Sentinel.”_

Sentinel. He was the Sentinel.

“Do not!”

The Heir. He obeyed only the Heir. Nothing mattered but the Heir.

_“I gave you your title, Sentinel, and I can take it back. Protect the Heir and destroy that Galra!”_

Galra! His gaze locked on the purple skinned creature attacking the others in the room. He knew them. They were…friends. He had to protect them from the Galra. The Galra. The…

The…

…he knew that Galra…

…he knew…

“Keith?”

* * *

 

Coran stared at the prince with wide eyes, hope returning to his weary heart. “Lance?” he called softly.

_“Sentinel!”_

“Lance, listen to me,” Allura said in a pleading voice. “Do not listen to him. Listen to _me!_ Lance. Lance? Brother?”

The prince stiffened and slowly turned his head to his sister. His eyes were wide and confused. Coran could only hope that this meant the prince was fighting.

“I…” he said in a soft, unsure voice. “I know…him.”

Allura studied her brother closely, before whirling to the former king’s hologram in terrible fury. “Whatever you’ve done to him, stop it now,” she commanded.

 _“Enough!”_ Alfor’s voice roared furiously. _“I told you I would prove to you Lance is no longer suitable to be your Sentinel.”_

“He _is_ my Sentinel,” Allura said. “I will accept no other.”

 _“You are too pure, my daughter,”_ Alfor said sadly. _“Sentinel.”_

Lance blinked, turning his head to his father’s holographic form in innocent bewilderment. “Father?” he called.

 _“This is my last command to you as the former Sentinel.”_ Lance gazed up at Alfor with a hopeful expression. _“Choose: the Heir of Altea, or that monster you call mate.”_

The prince’s face fell into one of despair. He bowed his head and began shaking.

“What?” Allura cried in shock. Before she could say anything more, someone grabbed her shoulders and spun her around until her advisor’s face was directly in front of hers. “Coran?”

“I know how to fix this,” Coran said suddenly, his purple eyes boring into Allura’s soft turquoise. “I figured it out.”

“Wha-”

“Sendak said he started it, then he let it progress on its own,” Coran said quickly, tightening his grip on the princess’s shoulders to keep her attention. “We assumed he was lying, but what if he was telling the truth? What if all of this began with that Galra crystal? If that’s true then the Castle’s quintessence defenses should have been able to quarantine and eliminate the foreign quintessence soon after we removed the source.”

“Y-yes, but it didn’t, Coran,” Allura said. “It-”

“Yes,” the advisor agreed, nodding, “because we immediately put Sendak in stasis and began drawing out his quintessence into the memory core.”

Allura’s eyes grew round. “Which was connected to the Castle’s systems.”

“All Sendak needed to do was break the Castle’s quarantines and give the foreign quintessence something to latch onto,” Coran said, lifting his gaze to the former king’s hologram. “King Alfor’s memory core.”

Allura paled in understanding. “But…Can we break the connection?” she asked desperately.

The advisor shook his head. “I doubt it,” he admitted sadly. “It’s likely the warped quintessence has become so entangled in your father’s quintessence that it’ll be impossible to separate.” He sighed. “Removing one would inevitably spell the end of the other.”

A cry of pain startled them out of their conversation. Allura turned to the voice only to have her head yanked back to Coran. “You have to destroy Alfor’s memory core,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. But that’s the only way to stop this before it goes too far. You have to do this, Allura. _You_ have to do this.”

Tears were streaming down her face as the weight of reality settled on her shoulders. She shook her head. “No,” she wept. “No I can’t I- Coran, he’s my _father!”_

“You said it yourself,” her advisor said. “That,” he pointed to the former king’s image, “is not your father. Your father died keeping you and Lance safe 10,000 periods ago. Remember him well. Do not let that perversion continue to exist in place of the memory you carry of the real thing.”

Allura nodded, sobbing as she stepped back.

“I choose Keith,” Lance said behind her.

Startled, she turned around only to see her brother run into the battle between the paladins. “Lance?” she called. “Lance!”

“Allura!” Coran said sternly. “Go to the holodeck and destroy Alfor’s memory core. Do that and this will stop.”

She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to leave her brother, her f-father… But it wasn’t her father, was it? She knew it wasn’t. She _knew_ it. But how long had she been fooled? When did her father’s quintessence cease to be, overwhelmed by the warped quintessence from Sendak’s Galra crystal? When did Alfor’s memory die and that monster take his place?

 _“I told you, daughter,”_ Alfor said, sounding tired but sure. _“Lance is no longer suitable to be your Sentinel. He is tainted, just like Lauma before him. They both bear the same stain. It’s a pity history must repeat itself.”_

Allura tightened her jaw, gathered up her skirt, and ran for the door. “Shiro,” she called as she ran. “With me. Now.”

“But I-”

“Now, Shiro!” she snapped. “It’s time we stopped this madness.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she heard before the black paladin’s footsteps joined hers.

* * *

 

“This is ridiculous,” Pidge grunted, clinging to her bayard.

She may be the smallest paladin, but that gave her some advantages. She was quick and could slip under her opponent’s guard simply because they forgot her size and ended up underestimating her. It had proven a useful thing in her battles against the Galra. Apparently, unless you were tall and buff, like Shiro or another Galra, you were beneath the Empire’s notice. Too bad this little paladin had a nasty bite.

She tossed her bayard at Keith, satisfied when the glowing green blade struck the red paladin’s shoulder electrocuting him. She was sometimes upset that her bayard had chosen to take the form of a glorified taser. Now was not one of those times. Her weapon may not be deadly the majority of the time, but she was glad for that now. She didn’t want to kill Keith.

She knew the moment Keith changed that something was wrong. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve said he was suffering from a psychotic break. She wasn’t as close to Keith as she preferred to be but that didn’t mean she was happy he was in pain. Seeing him suffer like this now and like he had been before he snapped, after Lance said all those horrible things to him in the pod, hurt her like little else did.

She resented the prince. This was all his fault. If he hadn’t lashed out at Keith like he had, if he hadn’t led the red paladin on like a piece of meat dangling just out of reach of a starving child, if he had just let Keith down gently, then none of this would have happened. And what the fucking hell was up with Keith’s if-he-dies-I-die speech? What kind of soulmate nonsense was that? This was all absolutely ridiculous and she was sick and tired of dealing with it.

She darted aside when Keith struck out at her with his claws, only to meet Hunk’s heavy bayard. Hunk had not fired on the red paladin yet and Pidge honestly doubted he would. Judging by what happened to Lance, she doubted Hunk would ever be able to fire his bayard at another paladin or any person again without a significant reason.

The kind-hearted yellow paladin would probably have nightmares about what he did for days after this, maybe even longer. Hurting a friend went against everything Hunk stood for. Even though, in Pidge’s book, Lance deserved everything he got, it was highly unlikely Hunk agreed. He was too soft. Hunk and his bleeding heart would probably want to help even a bleeding Galra.

She couldn’t bring herself to feel angry. It was traits like that that made Pidge value Hunk’s friendship. She could always count on him to be her moral compass. Her compass had been thrown completely out of whack ever since her brother introduced her to psychological thrillers. Hunk kept her as close to the straight and narrow as he could. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close.

Keith grunted in pain and leapt back to nurse his bleeding hand. He was still favoring his left side where Shiro had gotten a jab in with his inactive mechanical arm. Whatever made the black paladin keep his weaponized arm deactivated during this fight, even though they all knew it would’ve given them an advantage, was beyond Pidge.

Then Lance appeared and Pidge saw red. She gritted her teeth and snarled at the prince only to gasp when Lance knocked Hunk out of the way of Keith’s claws. Strangely, Keith didn’t hesitate to attack Lance either.

“Look out!” Pidge shouted.

She swung her bayard so the buzzing green blade separated from the handle and flew through the air on its long cord. The blade curved around Keith’s leg and Pidge yanked with all her strength, knocking the berserk red paladin off his feet. The Altean prince dove in Keith’s path and caught him before he struck the floor. Keith struggled to get free but Lance held him tightly, which suited Pidge just fine.

She frowned and willed her bayard to send several volts of electricity into the red paladin and, since Keith was in contact with Lance, into the prince’s body as well. Both boys tensed as the electric current zinged through their bodies. When the current stopped, Lance slumped forward, still refusing to let go of Keith. Both paladins were gasping and spasming.

 _“A pity really,”_ Sendak said over the speakers. _“I really do like your eyes.”_

Lance jerked, curling in on himself. It took Pidge a second to realize she wasn’t electrocuting him and that Lance was truly in pain.

 _“Wrong choice,”_ Alfor said simply.


	31. Tektite: wisdom through life experiences, prevents emotional scars and memories, used with moldavite to enhance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Allura weeps, Shiro breaks, and Hunk sees starlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I should let you know that I almost cried while writing this chapter. Me. The witch. I almost cried while writing this chapter. Why? Because I looped this song the entire time I wrote this: [Goodbye Father from the Voltron OST](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4K6bMT34v60)

She didn’t have to wait for Shiro when she ran to the lift. He was right behind her. She quickly pressed the button which would call the lift to the bridge. The doors opened immediately and she silently praised her good luck. She rushed inside, Shiro stepping in beside her. She pressed the buttons for the required floors and turned to her paladin.

“Shiro, I need you to deal with Sendak,” she said. “Get rid of his memory core. Use anything you deem necessary, just stop him.”

“Yes ma’am,” she said, nodding.

When the doors to the floor where the holodeck were opened, she ran out as fast as she could and didn’t look back. The lights immediately shut off leaving her in the dark. She grinned. She’d grown up in these halls. She knew where she was going with or without the light to guide her. She simply held out a hand and let her fingers brush the wall as she ran until they came to the door to the holodeck.

The access panel was dark, probably another defense mechanism created by the distorted quintessence controlling her father’s memory core. She dropped to her knees and worked the cover of the panel free. It took her a few tries to create a short circuit using the crystals, shocking herself in the process. But the door slid open and that was all that mattered.

She dropped the crystal and slipped inside just as the door slammed shut behind her. It was close, too close. Several strands of her hair ended up stuck between the door and the wall. She had to grab her hair and rip the strands free bit by bit before turning to the holodeck. Her father’s memory core sat in its slot glowing a deceptively gentle white. If it wasn’t for the stray strands of purple pulsing with life throughout the memory core’s quintessence, she would have begun to question Coran’s conclusion.

She moved slowly into the room, her heart breaking with each step closer to her goal. Her turquoise eyes could not tear away from the contaminated memory core. Even when the holographic form of her father, this one fuzzy and not as solid as the one on the bridge had been, appeared above the memory core, she didn’t stop her advance.

 _“Allura!”_ the holograph pleaded desperately. _“You can’t do this! You’ll destroy everything I’ve worked for.”_

She ignored it.

 _“Do it, Allura,”_ her father said, his voice soft and gentle, just like she remembered it.

Startled, she looked up at the hologram directly for the first time. “F-father?” she breathed hopefully.

 _“You must, Allura,”_ her father said, his eyes pained and his expression broken. _“It’s the only way. No!”_ Her father’s holographic form, tensed suddenly, his expression changing completely to one of fear and anger. _“Do not do this! After all I’ve done to protect you, to protect Altea- Do it quickly.”_ Alfor, her father, returned. _“Please. It’s all I can do to keep it from harming you. Destroy it while you still can.  No! Stop it! Do it, Allura. Please!”_

With tear filled eyes, Allura place her hands on the top of the memory core to open it and release the quintessence stored inside when-

_“Allura.” Her father was cradling her as a newborn, smiling proudly and allowing her to grasp his finger with her tiny hands._

_“Allura!” He was scolding her for making fun of her big sister’s mud covered clothes._

_“Allura.” He tried to hide his smile as she cried over her stained dress._

_“Allura!” He laughed at her temper tantrum over her freshly dyed red hair._

_“Allura.” He tried to encourage her before she went to the purification ceremonies before that final, dreadful juniberry festival._

_“Allura.” He whispered through his tears as she lay half asleep in her bed the night before the last day she would see him alive._

“This isn’t real,” she whispered, pushing through the flashes and catches of memory that bled into her mind, toying with her emotions. This was a low blow. It ripped her heart to shreds to see this laid out before her. Worse, she knew that was exactly why the viral quintessence was doing this. It was a last-ditch effort to prevent her from doing the inevitable. She would destroy the infection that was destroying her family.

Her family.

She paused as the weight of that one thought struck her heart. Her family. Her paladins had become her family. Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Keith… They had carved their own places in her heart right next to Lance and Coran in such a way that they could never be replaced. They had become her friends, her siblings, her children, her family in every way that mattered.

They had been ready to die for her and her cause without ever knowing her before, just because of what had happened to one of their own. This race, these Humans, were still finding ways to surprise her. Just when she thought she was beginning to understand them, they turned the tables on her. They kept her on her toes.

And she loved every second of it.

Watching them interact with Coran, watching Keith when he was around Lance, watching Hunk and Pidge argue about the pros and cons of seat belts and whether they were actually needed in the Voltron Lions, and never feeling left out herself…

This was family. _Her_ family.

And she would be damned if she let something as despicable as Sendak or Zarkon or some distorted quintessence take that away from her.

_“Allura.”_

She met the eyes of her father’s flickering form with steely determination. He smiled.

_“I’m so proud of you.”_

Her tears brimmed her eyes and her jaw worked to halt any sobs from escaping as her heart slowly broke into as many pieces as periods past since she first entered the cryopod.

“I’m so sorry, father,” she whispered, in a wavering voice.

His smiled softened. _“Don’t be,”_ he said. _“I understand. Tell Lance that I’m sorry.”_

She nodded and tightened her grip on the metal lid she could still feel through the mental illusion created by the memory core. It took all of her strength to rip the lid off, shattering the glass canister of the memory core. Instantly, the illusory word faded like fog in the sunlight, leaving her alone in the dim holodeck. She lifted her gaze, following the path of the purple-tinged white quintessence as it rose through the air, phasing through the ceiling of the holodeck and vanishing from her sight and life forever.

She wept.

* * *

 

_“When all hope is lost, still you keep fighting.”_

Shiro ignored the Galra’s words that rang through the speakers in the lift. He refused to cover his ears. He wouldn’t give the bastard the satisfaction.

_“Why fight at all when you can join us?”_

“Because I’m not like you!” Shiro shouted angrily, when the lift door opened on the prison pod level.

_“We have more in common than you care to admit. Just look at your hand.”_

Despite his efforts, Shiro’s eyes flickered to his metallic arm. The familiar feelings of disgust, self-loathing, and nausea flooded his mind and body. It took more effort than it should have to quell the sudden, powerful urge to vomit where he stood.

_“You’ve been broken and reformed, blessed with a weapon designed by the Druids. They’re good at what they do. I’m sure the little prince would tell you that himself if he wasn’t occupied at the moment.”_

“That doesn’t matter,” the black paladin said fiercely, skidding to a stop in front of Sendak’s prison pod. The Galra was just as lifeless as he’d always appeared since they first put him in here. That had been a mistake he would make sure never happened ever again.

_“It certainly mattered mere tecks ago, Champion.”_

Shiro flinched at his gladiator name, clenching his fists. “You’re twisting everything!” he shouted at the still body.

 _“Twisting?”_ Sendak said in amusement. _“You were ready to murder the little prince in cold blood without trying to save him first. You even used your hand to fight him because you know it’s the strongest part of you.”_

“No, that’s not true,” Shiro said. 

_“Who’s the liar now, Champion? You reject the truth that disagrees with your preset prejudices, accepting only the truth that agrees with your bias. You’re a hypocrite.”_

“I’m _not!”_

 _“You_ **_are!_** _Color it how you like, Champion. You acted like a true Galra. You should be proud.”_

“You’re wrong.”

_“Then why haven’t you destroyed me yet?”_

Shiro flinched, unable to look away from the frozen body to the memory core holding the source of Sendak’s quintessence.

_“You can’t because you know I speak the truth. You’re already a member of the Galra Empire.”_

“No.”

_“Embrace it. Don’t be ashamed of it. You’re stronger because of it.”_

“No!”

_“You knew the Druid’s gift to you was the strongest part of you. That’s why you use it as your weapon of choice. You knew that to defeat the little Druid prince, you would need the weapon the Galra Druids gave you.”_

“You’re wrong!” Adrenaline rushed through Shiro’s veins, sending his nerves alight with an electrifying fire, much like what he felt before every arena battle.

 _"Day in and day out, you rely on it,”_ Sendak pressed, as if speaking into Shiro’s ear directly _. “The arena may have changed but you are still the Champion. You will always **be** the Champion. The best of the gladiators in Zarkon’s service.”_

“That’s not me!” Shiro shouted in vehement denial, his eyes wild and frantic.

_“The others are mere children compared to you. Even the little Druid prince hasn’t seen what you’ve seen. You’ve watched the weak fall to your Druid-given strength. You’ve done more for the Galra Empire than you ever did for those pathetic paladins.”_

“I’m not listening to you,” he whimpered, covering his ears with both his flesh and metallic hands.

_“Face it, Champion. You can never defeat Zarkon. He's already defeated you. You’re already a member of the Galra Empire.”_

The cool metal bit into his skin like a razor sharp knife made of solid ice leaving his gasping and shivering. Images, thoughts, sounds, sensations, emotions, voices, tumbled through his mind in a tumultuous chaos that was drowning him. He was losing himself.

_“You’re a monster, Champion; a monster of Zarkon. You can never be a Voltron paladin. But then, considering who the Black Lion chose as its previous paladin, I shouldn’t be surprised that it chose another monster to take your predecessor’s place.”_

“I’m not listening,” Shiro whispered in a despairing whimper. “I’m not listening. I’m not listening. I’m not listen-”

 _“Look at you,”_ Sendak purred. _“A monster, a Druid, and a Galra, halfbreed though he may be. You already have the beginnings of one of Zarkon’s best strike teams.”_

He breathing was coming in increasingly shallow gasps. His chest was tightening painfully as something clenched around his heart making his pulse roar in his ears. But no matter how loud the voices in his head or his thunderous pulse were, they couldn’t drown out Sendak’s traitorous words. They were true. So true.

No. No they weren’t. Don’t- Stop. Stop it. It’s not true. Stop it!

_“Did the princess ever tell you how the Great War began? Did you know the little Druid prince was there? Did you know he watched as his family, his **people** suffered and died around him and he did **nothing** to stop it? Did you know it was the Alteans who made the first move? Did you know you’re fighting for the wrong side?”_

Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrongwrongwrongwrongwrongstopitstopitpleasejuststop!

“Please,” he choked, struggling to catch his breath as his lungs felt like they would collapse under the pressure and his heart threatened to erupt from his chest. His body jolted erratically as shudders wracked his body. He couldn’t move. He could barely breathe. The images, the memories, they wouldn’t stop. They wouldn’t stop. Make them stop. Stop. Stop! Just-

_“Why fight Zarkon, when you can join him?”_

“Stop it!” he screamed.

His focus returned to his wide eyes when he heard the sound of crunching glass. He was stunned to find his Druid-enhanced fist planted firmly against the glass-like shield separating him from Sendak.

_“I like your eyes. They shine with the same fear I saw in the little Druid prince, right before I took my prize from him. Just like I’m taking my prize from you now.”_

Shiro’s muscles ached from the tension and he still couldn’t breathe. The accursed purple glow began to radiate from his Druid-enhanced fist. He couldn’t stop it. He couldn’t control it. He was losing.

_“I took the little Druid prince’s eye, to always remember the fear in them. From you, I take your sanity.”_

Against his will, Shiro lifted his terror-stricken gaze to Sendak’s face. This isn’t real. This is a dream. It’s a dream. Make it stop. Make it stop, make it stop, makeitstop! His mind latched onto his terror and filled his vision with a thing of nightmares.

He screamed and smashed the memory core to bits with his Druidic weapon, ripping it from its base and slamming it against the shield protecting Sendak. The metal cap tore off and slapped a touch-activated panel on the left side of the prison pod. A second later, the prison pod, the pulverized remains of the memory core, and any visible sign of Sendak vanished, ejected into the vacuum of space where it would remain forever.

He didn’t notice. He could only just catch himself on his hands and knees when his legs gave out beneath him.

“Make it stop,” he pleaded in a weak, shaky whisper. “Make it stop. You’re wrong. I’m not a monster. I can’t be a monster. I’m not the Champion. I am Shirogane Takashi. I’m not a monster. I’m the Black paladin. Orewa Shirogane Takashi. Orewa bakemono ja nai! Orewa bakemono _ja nai!”_

* * *

 

When Lance screamed, Hunk jumped into action. He turned his bayard weapon on the holographic form of Alfor, firing a blast of yellow energy at the particle barrier protecting him. The barrier held.

But then the hologram vanished and the particle barrier dissipated. Surprised, Hunk lowered his bayard. The dying star now filled the entire room’s view screens.

“She did it,” Coran murmured just loud enough for the yellow paladin to hear. He looked at the advisor who fell to his knees in relief. “I’m sorry, princess. I’m so sorry.”

“We still need to stop the ship’s descent and get the fuck out of here,” Pidge snapped, freeing the glowing green cord of her bayard from Keith’s legs. “Coran, fly this thing out before that star explodes or we’ll all die anyway!”

But Coran shook his head in weary dismay. “I can’t,” he whispered.

“What?” Hunk gasped.

“What do you mean you can’t?” Pidge cried, yanking her bayard blade back into its proper place.

The advisor shook his head wearily. “I can’t fly the Castle of Lions,” he said. “Only Allura can. Only the Heir can fly the Castle.”

“But...” Pidge slumped, staring up at the star in despair.

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Hunk said, powering down his bayard. “King Alfor was just the Sentinel, right? If only the Heir can fly the Castleship, then how could _he_ have flown it?”

Coran blinked, and looked at the yellow paladin in shock. “He could mimic the former Heir’s quintessence,” he said, hope kindling in his eyes. “Every Sentinel can mimic their Heir’s quintessence.”

“Then Lance can fly us out,” Hunk said.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Pidge said grimly, looking at where the prince was crumbled on the floor. Hunk followed his friend’s gaze and winced when he saw Lance clutching a still twitching Keith in one hand and his right eye with his other hand, quivering and gasping.

“Then we have to find Allura and-”

Hunk turned to the advisor when he suddenly fell silent. Coran’s gaze was locked on something across the room near the floor. When the yellow paladin looked over there as well, he gasped and reactivated his bayard.

“Wait! Stop!” Coran cried, leaping up and grabbing the yellow paladin’s bayard with his arms, leaning his full weight on the weapon, preventing Hunk from aiming it properly. “That’s- That’s quintessence!”

“If it’s that Alfor guy's quintessence, then let Hunk blast it into oblivion,” Pidge hissed. “Or better yet...”

She reeled back and swung her bayard, willing the buzzing blade to fly free of the handle, trailed by the glowing green cord. Her aim was impeccable. The blade struck the center of the swirling orb of glowing quintessence, and met no resistance.

“What?” she gasped.

“Quintessence can’t be attacked by physical weapons,” Coran said.

“Great,” Hunk huffed. “So how do we stop it?”

Before he could answer, the orb slowed its ascent and began floating towards Lance and Keith. Hunk powered down his bayard, causing Coran to drop to the floor and ran to Pidge’s side. But he was too late. The orb floated up to the prince and the fallen halfbreed, and exploded in a brilliance of white threads.

The threads of quintessence enveloped the red paladin and the prince. Keith tensed, then fell still, his face falling slack in peaceful sleep. Lance’s body convulsed, cutting off a cry before it could escape his throat. Then his face too fell slack as threads of deep violet streamed out of him only to be absorbed by the white threads. But it didn’t seem to hurt him.

“Coran?” Hunk said, unsure of what to make of the sight. “What’s happening?”

“It’s Alfor,” the advisor breathed, a tear falling down his cheek. “He’s removing the tainted quintessence from Lance.”

Hunk’s face slackened in surprise.

“He’s trying to save him,” Pidge said, her eyes wide.

The stark white threads retreated slowly from Lance, allowing him to slump in exhaustion. Lance shuddered and lifted his head, gazing at the orb of white longingly. He reached out with the hand that had been covering his pained eye and tried to touch the orb.

For a moment, a small tendril of white thread looped lovingly around his finger, then the orb rose out of reach and faded like mist on a riverbank.

No one spoke. Lance dropped his hand, running his fingers tenderly through Keith’s tangled hair before easing him off his lap and getting to his feet. Quietly, he made his way to the center of the bridge and stepped up onto the pedestal.

“Coran,” he said softly, “put Keith in a healing pod please. Pidge, find my sister. She’ll need you. Hunk, find Shiro. Don’t leave them alone.” He placed his palms on the control columns by his side and began glowing a soft, pure white. “Don’t leave them alone, please.”

Hunk couldn’t find any words to say in reply, but he wasn’t alone in that. He and Pidge turned to Coran for guidance. When he nodded, Pidge hesitated only a moment longer to shoot a distrustful glare at the prince’s back before nodding and racing out of the bridge to find Shiro. Hunk turned to follow, but paused at the door when he realized Coran hadn't joined him with Keith.

He turned back in time to see the entire bridge suddenly glow the same white as the prince. The glow formed a halo around everything including Coran crouched by Keith’s side. Hunk held out a hand and lost his breath when he saw the same halo around his dark skin. Then the red-gold of the dying star was eclipsed by the deep blue of a wormhole. The Castle lurched forward, before being engulfed in the wormhole.

That glow… It was almost like starlight.


	32. Moldavite: catalyst for important changes in life, use to enhance effects of tektite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance is empty, Coran and Hunk find a purpose, and Romelle decides to reach out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** This is mostly the immediate aftermath of last chapter, so there's a lot of moping attempts at recovery. The serious recovery will begin next chapter. Just in time to begin saying goodbye to _Crystal_ and say "hello" to its upcoming sequel tentatively titled _Mirror_. If any of you have a better idea for a title for the sequel to this fic, let me know in the comments. ^_^
> 
> Btw, if any of you are going through the previous fics in this series and suddenly see the user _meliora_JG_ as a co-author, don't worry. He's beta-ing for me. I've never had a beta before so this is a bit weird, but we both know each other personally and he offered. So he's going through my previous fics, specifically _Chill_ at the moment, and correcting any mistakes he finds.
> 
>  **Side note:** If anyone's curious as to what Romelle, Avok, Bandor, and King Cova look like as well as some background for their characters in the original _Voltron: Defender of the Universe_ series, then check out this link. It's short and to the point: [ Pollux and Polluxian Royal Family](http://www.angelfire.com/mo/castledoom/pollux.html)

When the Castle of Lions broke free of the wormhole, Lance released the breath he’d been holding in one long, heavy gust. He removed his hands from the control columns and stepped down from the pedestal. He was strangely steady on his feet despite how detached and tired he was. It felt like he was seeing everything from somewhere else. Everything felt distant, unfeeling, neutral. It was…odd.

He knew he should be feeling drained from the abuse his mind, emotions, and body had suffered, but he didn’t. He just felt empty. The bridge was silent and he didn’t have the heart to disturb it. He didn’t have the heart for much of anything right now. It was all he could do to just keep breathing in and out, in and out, in and out.

He barely registered when he turned and walked off the bridge and into the lift. He didn’t remember pressing any buttons on the lift, just stepping out when the door slid open again. It felt like floating even though he knew he was walking. He could barely remember the reason for coming down here. It was a pull he couldn’t resist. It felt like he would wallow in this emptiness if he didn’t come here.

Where was here?

It took some effort to lift his head and take in the room he stepped into. The room was perfectly circular and the same silvery steel color with the familiar turquoise lighting accenting the Altean designs. Eight columns rose from the floor to support the weight of the upper levels of the Castleship. In the center of the room, a circular platform rose a third of a span from the floor and held eight healing pods, all but one of which were powered down.

The sole pod currently active gave off a soft, comforting, turquoise light befitting the room’s ambience. Like a moth to a flame, Lance migrated towards the glow. A shadow blocked the light from the center of the pod creating a halo around the shadow. The Altenoid shadow. He never noticed when the first tear slipped down his cheek, but he did know it was the only one. No more tears followed. Nothing followed.

There was nothing to follow.

There was just…nothing.

Empty.

He placed his hand over the sleeping shadow’s form and may or may not have whispered a name. He couldn’t remember. He did remember the chill from the healing pod’s shield sink into his back through his shirt when he turned and leaned against it. Slowly, he slid down so he sat on the floor with his back still pressed to the pod’s shielded front. He vaguely remembered pulling his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, grabbing hold of his wrists to hold the position.

The last thing he remembered was closing his eyes and resting his forehead on his knees.

* * *

 

Coran stopped calling the prince’s name when he realized he wasn’t being heard. Instead, he stood next to the healing pod he had just finished programming for the red paladin’s care and watched. Lance’s eyes were hazy and unfocused, but they were fixed nonetheless one Keith’s unconscious form sleeping inside the healing pod. When Lance curled up at the base of the pod, Coran gently rested a hand on the prince’s shoulder and sighed.

“I’m so sorry, son,” he said sadly.

He knew he wouldn’t be heard, but it was all he could do, all the comfort he could offer to a terrified child. He gave Lance’s shoulder a small squeeze before leaving the pod chamber in search of Allura and Shiro. He hadn’t heard anything from either Hunk or Pidge, so he could only hope everything was fine. Or, well, as fine as it could be given the circumstances. He did throw one last look over his shoulder at Lance and Keith before leaving.

The walk to the holodeck wasn’t long at all. He could hear the princess’s sobs from the hallway and cautiously poked his head into the holodeck. Allura was curled in Pidge arms and crying on the green paladin’s shoulder. Behind both of them was the shattered remains of King Alfor’s memory core. The sight of it brought the events of the past back to the forefront of Coran’s mind. He shuddered and looked away only to see Pidge looking up at him, her eyes wide and filled with confusion. This was out of her depth and she knew it. To be honest, they were both out of their depth.

The advisor merely sighed and lifted his eyebrows in a silent offer to help. Pidge pressed her lips together in a thin line and considered the offer before shaking her head. She turned back to the princess in her arms and began rubbing Allura’s back in a comforting rhythm.

Again, Coran felt useless. Nevertheless, he nodded and retreated from the holodeck, taking care to make sure the door closed behind him. The was only one more place where he may be needed, where he could possibly help. He stepped back into the lift and rode it down to the prison pod level.

He heard the voices before he laid eyes on the two paladins. Shiro was on his knees, covering his ears with his hands and chanting to himself in a language that took a tick or two to translate. Curious. The black paladin must not be speaking the same language he had been until now. Either way, that wasn’t important right now.

“Hunk!” he cried, hurrying to the agitated yellow paladin. “What’s going on? What happened to Shiro?”

“I don’t know,” Hunk said, flailing helplessly. “He was like this when I got here. He’s not speaking English and he won’t listen to me. I think he’s having a meltdown.”

“A what?” Coran asked, unfamiliar with that term. He dropped to his knees by Hunk’s side and moved to grab Shiro by the shoulders.

“Don’t!” Hunk cried, grabbing Coran’s arms before he could make contact. “Don’t touch him from behind. He’s having an episode.”

“A what?” Coran repeated. “I don’t know what that means.”

“He’s not _here_ , Coran,” Hunk said. “Don’t freak out, don’t touch him from behind, don’t ask if he’s okay, and do _not_ tell him to calm down. Just talk to him slowly using soft tones and encouraging words. Don’t talk down to him but talk him down from this. Do you understand?”

Coran blinked. “I-Yes,” he said hesitantly. “Yes, I think I do.”

“Okay. Then let me go first,” Hunk said. He scooted back so he sat next to Shiro and placed his hand on the floor directly in Shiro’s line of sight, making sure Shiro saw it before speaking. “Shiro?” he called in a gentle tone. “Shiro, it’s me, Hunk. Can you hear me?”

The black paladin didn’t answer but his chanting eased. Coran’s translator was having trouble translating the black paladin’s garbled words into Altean but he could catch snatches of familiar sounds. He was the royal adviser. Not being able to understand what was being said prevented him from doing his job. As the adviser, it was his duty to help any way he could. Yet another reason why he hated feeling useless.

Coran followed Hunk’s lead and placed his hand on the floor directly in Shiro’s sight and spoke. “Shiro. It’s me, Coran. I need you to lift your head for me. Can you do that?”

Shiro shuddered and shook his head, the litany of garbled words continuing their unbroken stream.

“I need to make sure you’re not hurt,” Coran said. “I’m not mad. Neither is Hunk. You aren’t in trouble. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I tried to kill him,” Shiro said. “I tried to kill him. I didn’t even- He was right. Sendak was right. No. NO!” he shouted, shaking his head vehemently. “He was wrong. He was _wrong!”_

“Don’t listen to Sendak,” Hunk said. “You can’t trust anything Sendak said.”

“Yes,” Coran said firmly. “All he did was twist our words and actions. You did nothing wrong, Shiro. _Nothing.”_

Shiro shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut in an effort to cut himself off from the world.

“Shiro,” Coran said.

No response. Taking a chance, Coran lifted the hand he had in Shiro’s sight, moving it slowly so he didn’t accidentally catch the black paladin off guard, and gently eased Shiro upright. He shifted over so he sat in front of the black paladin and placed his other hand on Shiro’s other shoulder, holding him upright. He met Shiro’s frightened dark gray eyes with his own violet and frown worriedly.

“Shiro,” he tried again. “Please listen to me.” He waited until he had the paladin’s full attention before continuing. “You are not at fault. Nothing you did was wrong. Everything that Galra said was a lie.”

Shiro’s head twitched side to side in a minute head shake of disagreement.

The advisor sighed. “Okay,” he said, heaving a sigh. “Why don’t you tell me what he said. I’ll listen to you. I won’t interrupt. You can talk all you want for as long as you want. I’ll listen for as long as you need me to.” Slowly, he moved his hands up to the paladin’s face, resting his thumbs at the corners of Shiro’s eyes, right where the eyescales would have been had Shiro been Altean.

“I promise, anything you tell me will be in confidence,” Coran said. “No one will hear a word of what you say unless you give me your express permission. But you need to tell me. Let me just be there for you. Will you do that?”

The wild-eyed expression on the black paladin’s face began to fade, but didn’t go away entirely. However, Shiro’s pupils began to retract, revealing more and more of the dark gray irises until the advisor was sure Shiro was beginning to overcome his panic. The sight was an immense relief to Coran.

“Would you do that?” Coran asked again.

Shiro just stared into the advisor’s eyes, silent and shaking, for several ticks before eventually nodding. Coran smiled and gently encouraged Shiro to lean forward and into a hug. When the black paladin finally rested his forehead on Coran’s shoulder, he whimpered and the advisor wrapped his arms around him.

“Hunk,” Coran said to the nervous and helpless looking yellow paladin sitting next to them. “I have things under control here for the time being. I need you to do me a favor. I need you to watch Lance.”

“Lance?” Hunk asked. “Why? Isn’t he flying the Castle?”

“Not anymore, no,” Coran said, shaking his head. “He’s with Keith in the healing pod chamber.” His eyes saddened. “Make sure he doesn’t do anything… Make sure he doesn’t hurt himself,” he finished weakly.

Hunk grimaced but nodded. He obediently stood and began making his way back to the lift. “Hey,” he said, pausing at the lift door and looking back over his shoulder at the advisor. “Thanks for helping him, Coran.”

“Don’t mention it,” Coran said with a smile.

He watched Hunk smile weakly before stepping into the lift and leaving him alone with Shiro. He sighed and settled in. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

 

When Hunk found Lance still and unresponsive, he took a seat next to the prince. After a couple minutes of nothing, Hunk looped an arm around Lance’s body and pulled him close so the prince slumped against him. Neither paladin moved for a while after that. It wasn’t until Hunk was half asleep from exhaustion that he felt Lance move.

He opened his eyes and looked down at the Altean prince by his side. Lance had fallen asleep and snuggled up to Hunk in his sleep. His eyes were shut tight but tears leaked out from beneath his dark eyelashes and his mouth was pressed in a thin line. The scar from Lance’s right eye stood out starkly against his dark skin. It always reminded Hunk of how much they’d already been through. They’d only been at this for what? A month? Maybe? Maybe a little longer? Maybe less?

It broke Hunk’s heart that he couldn’t do more to help his friends. He hated seeing them get hurt. He didn’t want to get hurt himself- he wasn’t a masochist, after all- but he didn’t want to see _them_ get hurt. So if all he could do was sit here and be a pillar of comfort for the no doubt hurting prince, then he was proud to do it. He would do it for anyone on his team. They were his family. Nothing came before family.

Family.

He missed his family on Earth. They would always have a place in his heart and he was certain Pidge’s mom and Commander Iverson would pass on his message to them. But for now, Team Voltron was his family. He lived with them, ate with them, slept with them, fought with them. They shared a bond with their Lions and with each other that was unique and special in so many ways.

Team Voltron was his family. They wouldn’t replace his Earth family; that was impossible. But they were now a part of his family.

A faint beep startled him from his thoughts and he looked up to find the source of the sound. Hovering hesitantly by the entrance to the healing pod chamber was Pidge’s hoverbot Rover. It was keeping to the shadows of one of the columns as if afraid to come too close. The poor thing.

“Hey Rover,” Hunk said softly, trying not to wake up Lance, even though he doubted that was possible, considering the soft snores he heard escaping the prince’s throat. “You okay?”

Rover beeped and hesitantly floated out from behind the column and further into the room. It turned its camera eye so it took in Keith’s unconscious body inside the healing pod, as well as Prince Lance’s sleeping form leaning against Hunk. It beeped an inquiry that Hunk was pretty sure he understood.

“Yeah,” he said. “They’re asleep. It’s been a long day.”

He managed a weak smile for the robot which just stared at him silently in return. After a few seconds, Rover floated closer and descended so it could settle comfortably in Hunk’s lap, cuddled close to his and Lance’s stomachs. It made the yellow paladin’s smile wider and more sincere.

“Just keep it down, okay?” Hunk said “We’re going to take a nap.”

Rover beeped softly and allowed itself to enter low power mode. It would still keep up with the Castle’s computer and wake Hunk up if it detected any dangers. Of course, the Castle would do that too. Hunk just hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

* * *

 

Romelle sneered at her sleeping brother. She may care about him, but he was a means to an end, nothing more. As long as she gave Avok what he wanted, he would keep his word and not tell their father, King Cova, where she was hiding. Naturally, Avok had no idea she and Bandor were the leaders of the rebellion against the Galra Empire. She couldn’t afford to tell him that. He was, quite frankly, too loyal to the Galra Empire to trust with that information.

As far as Avok was concerned, Romelle was hiding from her father to avoid being given back to Lotor as a way to secure his place as the foremost of the Galra Empire’s allies. Because that had worked out so well last time he tried. Romelle did not consider her time under Lotor’s care as anything but a travesty that she used to fuel her anger and, by extension, her rebellion.

It was only by sheer coincidence that she’d noticed Avok’s affection for her. He was the only person other than her younger brother Bandor to speak up against King Cova’s decision to give her hand to Lotor. It hadn’t take much after that to figure out why.

After that, all it had taken was a carefully worded plea to her brother, begging him to come save her from Lotor. That it was him she loved and not Lotor. That she only wanted to be with him and no other. Avok had, to her mild surprise, come running.

He came a bit too late to save her from Lotor’s grasp; that was thanks almost entirely to Thace. But he had gotten her away from the Galra homeworld and back to Pollux where she took over a defunct seascraper that she refurbished with help from both of her brothers, as well as a few others in secret. Now that defunct seascraper was a fully functional miniature city equipped with living quarters, a fully stocked kitchen, balea docks, and the means to maintain a steady flow of communication.

Avok did all this for her without question. The only price he demanded was that she allow him access to her body. After what she went through with Lotor, she had very little left to lose but plenty to gain. She had agreed, on the condition she use Kadesh, because neither of them wanted a child thrown into the mix. As far as Romelle was concerned, the only child she would ever call truly hers was out of her reach somewhere in the Galra Empire.

At least incest wasn’t illegal on Pollux. It wasn’t necessarily seemly to take place in public, but it was deemed acceptable in private. So she wasn’t breaking any laws, as far as Avok knew anyway. Also, Avok wasn’t that bad on the eyes. From the view of most Polluxians, he was the epitome of perfection: red hair he let brush his shoulders in a windblown style, dark eyes like the bark of some of the plants kept in some of the īegs and seascrapers, strong muscular arms tanned from the years in the sun and sea, and freckles dusting his cheeks. Had Romelle not fallen in love with Thace, perhaps she would have developed feelings that were more than sibling love for Avok.

But this was no time to dwell on what-ifs. Now was the time to reach out to her forces and establish a line of contact with this Voltron. If it was anywhere near as formidable as the legends said, and her sources hinted that it very well could be, then it was worth the risk. Thace said the traders had a direct link to the Voltron team. She would start by contacting them. Knowing the traders' tendencies, she would start by contacting one of her agents on Meserie. If the traders weren't there now, they had been and would be again.

She got up from the bed, taking care to not awaken Avok. Although, given the way he was snoring, she doubted even a rogue wave would wake him. She grabbed her compact holographic projector and slipped into the bathing room for privacy, making sure to lock the door behind her. She turned on the light just to keep up the illusion of getting ready to bathe, turned on the water to begin filling the tub, and set the projector down on the tile floor next to the tub's rim.

After a quick glance over her shoulder from paranoia, she activated the projector and waited as the star map located her and then projected a holographic representation of the stellar bodies in the vicinity of Pollux. The Daystar was depicted prominently near Pollux and its long extinct sister planet Altea. She typed in the coordinates for Meserie and waited for the planet's holographic projection to appear. When it did, she tapped the planet's image, and the list of her agents currently registered as on that planet's surface appeared. She tapped the club owner's name and typed a quick message for him to read. If the traders came to Meserie, they would inevitably make contact with Manset sooner or later.

She sent the message and closed the portable projector. The biometric lock flashed, indicating its activation, and she set it aside. If anyone who didn't match her quintessence exactly tried to access the projector, it would instantly erase all of its data. But who would want to access the personal diary of Princess Romelle of Pollux? No wanted to hear the lovesick rambling of a princess who had hopelessly fallen for her older brother, after all.

Now for a good washing. She didn’t want Avok’s scent on her any longer than necessary.


	33. Danburite: stimulates intellect, enhances psychic ability & self-assuredness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Manset gets a message, makes a deal, and passes on a message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** A quick break from the Space Family for a return to Meserie. Whoo~

Manset rolled over in his bed when a particular device by his ear beeped, waking him immediately. He sat up and checked the room around him habitually to be sure he was alone. He had already swept the room for any potential spying devices the night before and found none. But it was always good to stay in the habit of checking. He could never be too careful.

The window screen had the solar shield raised to block the eternal sunset light of Meserie from disturbing his sleep, and thick curtains were pulled across the window as well. There were some advantages to the daylight never changing. Meserie kept to the standard time measurements and used solar shields and solar lamps to denote ‘night’ and ‘day.’ When the solar shields attached to the particle barrier protecting the port city from the raging winds on the planet’s surface and the solar lamps dotting the city dimmed, it was ‘night.’ When the shield was lowered and the lamps brightened, it was ‘day.’

But relying on the sunlight and his own solar shields on his home windows, he had effectively reversed his body clock. His ‘night’ was the rest of Meserie’s ‘day’ and vice versa. It helped when he ran a bar and lounge that was only opened during the night.

He got out of bed and lifted the mattress, revealing a hidden panel. He spit on his hand and placed it on the biometric scanner. The scanner flashed green and slid aside revealing a compartment just big enough to hold a small, portable holographic projector in the shape of a metallic pyramid. Carefully, he plucked the device from the compartment making sure the panel slid shut before dropping the mattress back on top of it and climbing back into bed.

One of his arms pulled the blankets back up over him, while another tapped the translator behind his ear in just the right place. The translator beeped twice before ejecting a tiny crystal. He could the crystal before it fell into the pile of pillows and blankets around him where he was certain it would be lost forever.

Instead, he tapped the apex of the pyramid and the three sides opened up to rest on the blankets. He placed the tiny crystal in the center of the projector’s base in a slot that was designed for this crystal alone. When the crystal was secured in place, it began to glow and project a series of messages encrypted using a code that he had long ago been taught how to crack.

 _“I’ve received word from the Soldier,”_ the message began. Manset stiffened in surprise. This was from the leader. He quickly read through the rest of the message, making sure he understood it completely.

_“I have received word from the Soldier. They’ve confirmed the legitimacy of Voltron. Tell the Traders I want to offer a potential alliance to Voltron. Any information regarding Voltron should be sent to me as soon as possible. They also informed me that Zarkon has devoted the majority of his forces on tracking down someone only known by Sentinel. The emperor wants the Sentinel captured alive and unharmed. Your new priority is to discover the Sentinel’s identity. Also, tell the Traders to get me the Kadesh quickly because I’m getting impatient.”_

Manset snorted at the end of the message. He would be sure to pass on the leader’s instructions. Although, knowing Rolo and Nyma, he would bet it would be a while before the traders could extricate themselves from the Market here on Meserie. The Market wouldn’t end for a few more cycles, after all.

However, the news of Emperor Zarkon’s new current obsession was interesting. It gave him something to begin data-mining for. Maybe Rolo knew something about this Sentinel person. But even if he didn’t, Manset knew both Rolo and Nyma could use their connection to Voltron to establish an alliance.

Besides, if Rolo was going to give Manset the proof he promised that that accursed drug -he refused to think of the juniberry as anything but that- was something entirely harmless to Alteans, then the trader would need to contact this Voltron team anyway. Speaking of, Rolo promised to have that proof here to present in person by tomorrow at the latest. Manset supposed he could wait that long.

He removed the tiny crystal from the slot and slipped it back into its hiding place in his translator. A tick after the crystal was removed, the sides of the pyramid projector lifted and closed. Manset stood and lifted his bed once more and replaced the holographic project back into its hiding place.

Instead of getting back into bed himself, however, he decided to pay a visit to The Mistro hotel for a midday- or in his case a midnight- snack. It was the perfect excuse to listen in on the latest gossip, as well as keep an eye on Lotor. Manset shuddered. Honestly, he would be much more at ease the moment that accursed prince was off of Meserie. The further from Manset’s trading post home Lotor went, the better, as far as the lounge owner was concerned.

There was also the matter of those rumors he’d hinted at to Rolo last he’d seen him: the drug dealer who was due to arrive on Meserie either today or tomorrow. He knew very little about her except for one thing that everyone he’d spoken to agreed on: do not get on her bad side. He would have to get eyes on the woman and make sure she didn’t try sending any feelers into his lounge. Den Resistance prided itself on being a drug free zone. It did not cater to that despicable class and never would. Manset would die before he allowed his precious establishment to stoop that low.

The atrium of The Mistro was roughly circular with hotel rooms on all sides. The higher levels, however, were penthouses that were owned by permanent or semi-permanent residents. Manset was proud to say he was one of the privileged few to own a penthouse in The Mistro. His humble abode may not be the highest level of the skyscraper, but it wasn’t the lowest either. His home was still only accessible from a private lift that required a personal keycard and biometric access before ascending to the level of choice. Manset paid for that security.

He stepped out of the glass lift as it approached the main floor of The Mistro and saw the closed and barred main doors of his lounge, Den Resistance, on the right. A few people stopped by the doors to glance at the lounge’s hours and available menu. One of those people was a woman with long hair the shade of blood and moon pale skin that resembled moonlight. She wore all black. Her shirt cut off at mid-waist leaving her pale skin visible for anyone to see. Her black pants were skin-tight and sat low on her hips. A long half-skirt hung from her pant line trailing behind her like a tail. On her shoulder sat a microraptor that was busy preening its feathers, ignoring the slender finger petting its neck.

She had a cut and striking figure that both enticed and intimidated. She carried no bags and appeared to be alone aside from her feathered companion. Perhaps he could ask if she needed anything or had any questions.

Or, then again, perhaps not. Manset’s eyes narrowed when he noticed the devil himself approach her and extend his hand in greeting. To Manset’s dismay, the dark woman grasped the Galran prince’s offered wrist and together, they migrated to the lift the lounge owner currently rode. He averted his eyes and scanned the rest of the main floor in mild interest. As the lift door opened, he pulled out a ticker and took note of the time, nodding to the prince and woman as they passed each other.

Something pricked the back of his head and he scratched it with one of his hands. It didn’t satisfy the itch, but the sensation did vanish rather quickly. He didn’t dwell on it for too long. Instead, he made his way out of The Mistro and down the skypaths to one of the large, general admittance lifts. The Market this turn may not be one of the larger, more prestigious Markets, but it was still notable and Manset needed a new coat. His current coat was clinging to the dregs of the latest fashion craze. He would not allow himself to dress out of fashion. That would be an unforgivable sin.

If he happened to notice where Rolo and Nyma had set up their site, it was a mere coincidence and if he stopped at their site to look at their wares, it was because he was interested in their collection of rare plants. He was always interested in expanding the oasis in Den Resistance.

“Manset!” Rolo called, stepping up onto the wooden platform that served as his and his partner’s shop. “You didn’t tell me you were coming to visit.”

Manset laughed merrily. “Yes, well, I couldn’t sleep and I have been meaning to visit this turn’s Market,” he replied with a broad smile. “I’m in need of a new coat. Also,” he turned his gaze up to the glass encase flowers on the top shelf, “I couldn’t help but notice your rarities.”

A flame ignited in the trader’s eyes that made the lounge own chuckle fondly. “Yes, yes, rub it in,” he said. “Just hand me that blue flower, boy.”

Rolo grimaced. “I’m not that much younger than you, you know,” he grumbled, but reached for the plant with the single, large blue flower. It was encased in glass and Manset knew it would remain that way until a deal was struck. “This is the-”

“Savrian desert flower,” Manset finished with a wry grin at Rolo. “I’m aware. It’s the reason why I asked for it. Let me see.”

Rolo held out the glass case, but never let go of it. He spun it around so the lounge owner could see it from all sides. Manset nodded in satisfaction.

“Thirty credits,” he offered. It was almost insultingly low.

Rolo scoffed. “For this? Come on, Mans, don’t do this. You know perfectly well how rare this plant is. It’s worth four times that and you know it.”

“Do I?”

The trader gave Manset a flat stare. “One hundred fifty credits,” he countered.

This time it was Manset who hissed. “That’s steep there, my friend,” he said. “I’ll go with eighty credits.”

“Alright, now you are insulting me,” Rolo said, pulling the flower close to his chest, holding it almost protectively. “Isn’t that right, Nyma?” he called.

“I’ll say.”

Manset turned to see the yellow skinned Teiidae standing with her weight one leg and propping a fist on one hip. She was giving him a disdainful glare that made his smile.

“Good to see you too, Nyma,” he said.

The Teiidae snorted. “Not with that price, you’re not,” she said, approaching the deck.

Manset shrugged. “I’ll go one hundred, but no more,” he said.

After a tick, Rolo shrugged. “Well, if that’s the way you want it, then it’s no deal,” he said. “Nyma, could you take this inside so our _guest_ doesn’t try to, ah, observe it again, would you?”

Manset held out a hand. “That won’t be necessary,” he said quickly. “I’m sure we can come to an arrangement.”

Rolo considered the offer thoughtfully for a few ticks before nodded. “Okay, I’m listening. What are you offering?”

“One hundred credits and a message from a mutual acquaintance,” Manset said.

Nyma stepped onto the platform and stood by Rolo. Both of them eyed the lounge owner suspiciously but she was the one to speak. “Depends on who this acquaintance is and if the message is worth our time,” she said.

Manset shrugged. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.

“That’s a bit underhanded, isn’t it?” Rolo said. “I’ll go one hundred fifty credits and the message. No lower.”

Manset shook his head slowly. “I doubt the Leader would approve of that,” he said.

It was a testament to both Rolo and Nyma’s experience that they didn’t flinch or give any visible sign of shock aside from a slight widening of their eyes.

“Well, considering I _am_ the leader,” Rolo said, “I’ll be the one to decide that.” He surreptitiously glanced at Nyma who pursed her lips but nodded, her lidless eyes never straying from Manset’s face. “Alright,” Rolo said eventually, “One hundred thirty credits and the information.”

“Make it one hundred twenty and both the credits and the message are yours with no strings attached,” Manset said.

It was exactly four times the worth he originally offered for the plant. It was the appraised value and, unless Rolo retrieved the flower from less than legal means, the traders would end up breaking even with this deal instead of making money. But they all knew a message directly from the leader was worth so much more.

Rolo still made a show of thinking before finally holding out his hand for Manset to shake and seal the deal. “Come inside and we’ll do the exchange,” he said.

“I’ll watch the shop,” Nyma said, flashing a glance at Rolo.

The trader nodded and shot his partner a playful salute before entering the yurt behind the lounge owner. “Alright,” he said. “Let’s get this over with.” He made sure the sound muffler was working before pulling the handheld creditor device used for credit transfers from his favorite jacket pocket. “So, the Leader called?” he asked, his eyes focused on the device in his hand.

“They did, yes,” Manset said. “It seems the Soldier told them about your contact in Voltron’s team. They want you to start talks for an alliance.”

“You’d think our agreement to trade information freely wasn’t an alliance to begin with,” Rolo said wryly, handing the creditor to Manset.

“It isn’t, as I’m sure you’re aware,” the lounge owner said, taking the creditor and authorizing the credit transfer process. “There’s more.”

“There always is,” Rolo muttered under his breath.

“Do you know anything about a person called Sentinel?” Manset asked.

He looked up as he handed the creditor back to the trader to finalize the transaction. For this reason and this reason alone, he saw a look of shock flicker across Rolo’s face. Rolo was good. He recovered so fast that, had Manset been less experienced, he would have thought the sight was nothing more than wishful thinking. But he was nowhere near new at this and he knew what he’d seen.

“Rolo?” he pressed. “Do you know the Sentinel?”

Rolo took the creditor and stuffed it in his pocket. “I may,” he said carefully.

“You’re being awfully careful with your words,” Manset commented, slightly offended. “You know you can trust me.”

“Says the person who wouldn’t believe me about the juniberry plant,” the trader grumbled.

“Drug,” Manset said.

 _“Plant,”_ Rolo snapped, relaxing a tick later. “At least in the context I’m speaking of,” he amended.

“That _drug,”_ Manset said sternly, ignoring the glare Rolo shot him, “has ruined so many lives-”

“Yes,” Rolo hissed. “Lives of stupid people who were more interested in a quick high than their physical health, or the fact that the thing is highly poisonous.”

Manset sighed and rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you’re still belaboring that point,” he groaned.

“Because a deal is a deal and I’ll be fucked if I let even _you_ make an oathbreaker out of me,” Rolo said. “I have a reputation to uphold and in my occupation, reputation is as good as currency.”

“I know what you’re doing, Rolo,” Manset interrupted, “and I’m not going to let you get away with it. You know something about the Sentinel. Why won’t you tell me?”

The trader shut his mouth and pressed his lips in a firm line.

“You know who the Sentinel is, don’t you.” It wasn’t a question. “Rolo, if you know who it is, you need to tell me.”

Rolo looked away. “Even if I did know who the Sentinel is, and I’m not admitting to anything,” he said quickly, holding up a hand, “I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Because I value my reputation,” Rolo said coldly, “and I’m no oathbreaker.”

“That-” Manset threw all four of his hands in the air in an exasperated gesture. “Fine. Don’t tell me,” he said. “But if you can, get a couple messages to the Sentinel. First, the leader wants to meet him. Our Leader is willing to help the Sentinel if an alliance with Voltron proves a possibility.”

“I’m still not admitting to anything,” Rolo said, crossing his arms, “but if I knew the Sentinel, I’d make sure he got the word. So, what’s the second part of this message I may or may not send?”

Manset couldn’t help but glance out the yurt’s only window before returning his gaze to his friend. “The Leader also told me the Soldier said the emperor wants the Sentinel alive and unharmed,” he said.

Rolo blinked, his mouth dropping open. “The frell?” he grasped. “That’s not-”

“It is,” Manset said. “I didn’t believe it first either, but it’s the truth. Granted, I haven’t been able to confirm anything through my own sources, but you and I both know the Soldier has never lead the Leader astray before with their information.”

The trader nodded, his eyes still wide in shock. “Okay,” he said, handing over the glass encased blue flower as well as a key to remove the protective casing. “I’ll pass that on, _if_ I knew the Sentinel,” he added.

Manset took the flower and watched his friend leave the yurt, following silently. It hurt knowing Rolo was keeping secrets from him. The lounge owner had never known Rolo to be so secretive about someone other than his fellow informants as well as the rebellion as a whole. Whatever the Sentinel had done to gain Rolo’s trust had to be significant indeed.

He shook Rolo’s hand once more before moving to leave. “Oh,” he said suddenly. “One last thing.” He turned to Nyma and said, “Your customer wants you to get them the Kadesh as soon as you can. They are, I quote ‘getting impatient.’”

Nyma snorted. “I’ll do what I can,” she sniffed.

Without looking back, Manset turned and made his way back to his penthouse in The Mistro. He needed a few more hours of sleep before getting ready to open Den Resistance.


	34. Calcite: balances mental and emotional health, aids memory, healing, purification, & protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance and Hunk have a heart-to-heart, Lance finally cries, and Keith drops a feels bomb on us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Another emotion-filled chapter focusing in our favorite Space Bros: Lance and Hunk. There's a rather huge feels punch at the end of the chapter, just a fair warning. Also, when Lance says Alwida is 10 periods (years) old, he means 10 Altean years old. Since I basing Altean years on Venusian years (year length only, not day length), that make Alwida 10 Venusian years old which is 6 and a half Earth years old.

The first thing he felt when he was sure he was awake was the cold seeping into his bones. He didn’t open his eyes right away, choosing to feel and listen instead. He was cold, similar and yet dissimilar to the cold that seeped from Lance’s body.

Lance.

A wave of soul-deep sadness filled his heart weakening his muscles and threatening to drown him to death. He certainly felt cold enough. Then there was a rush of air and the faintest hint of warmth that brushed across his face like a breath, a hint of flame. It hurt and stole any lingering strength he had in him. His legs gave out and he fell-

-straight into a warm embrace. He couldn’t open his eyes. As long as he kept them closed, he could imagine it was Lance who had caught him. The moment he opened his eyes, that dream would vanish like smoke. If only that scent…

He couldn’t help it. He opened his eyes as the person holding him knelt down allowing him to slump against the warm body completely. No. Not a warm body. There was warmth there, yes, but there was also a coolness to the hands clutching the back of his shirt. And the fingers in his hair were almost icy as they wove through the dark strands. And that… That scent…

He opened his eyes wider and saw the blue sleeve by his face. It couldn’t… He let his eyelids droop shut and buried his nose in the blue fabric, breathing in the scent he knew so well. There were other scents mixed in with the subtle musk and spice that was distinctly Lance: the heady smell of sweat, the sharp tang of fear that made his nose crinkle, and something crisp like a fresh breeze from a seashore.

Lance. It was Lance. But… But why?

His ear twitched, tickled by soft breath accompanied by the sound of muffled words. He focused on the sound, his ear flicking towards the source, and was stunned when he understood the words. They were soft, garbled, and colored by thick emotion, but he was able to make sense of them.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please, please, I’m sorry. Keithek, I’m so sorry.”

On and on it went. The words tumbling out of a mouth close to his ear in Lance’s broken, raw voice. Why was it broken? Why was it raw? The last time Keith could remember hearing that voice was when-

He halted that train of thought quickly when the cold he hadn’t noticed had been fading from him began to return. Instead, he nuzzled the cloth by his nose and flicked his ear so the tufted fur at the ends brushed what he hoped was Lance’s cheek and let out a weak purr.

“Keith?”

He wanted to answer. He did. But it took so much energy and he was still so tired. A flickering flame kindled in his chest, thawing the ice from within just as Lance’s arms melted it from without.

“Keith, can you hear me?”

It was the faint hope in that broken voice and the returning fire that gave him enough energy to say two words.

“Forgive you.”

* * *

 

The words were faint, almost a whisper, but he heard them and it brought fresh tears to his eyes. He curled around Keith’s now slumbering body and sobbed. He didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve a second chance. What he’d done… What he’d almost done… Whether he meant it or not, it was unforgivable. That Keith forgave him was something he never imagined.

To add to Lance’s worries, Keith was cold, colder than he should be. It scared Lance. He was afraid of what would happen if he kept holding Keith close, but he was equally afraid of letting him out of his sight. Just the thought of it scared him out of his mind. What if Keith died? What if Keith changed his mind and retracted his forgiveness? Lance would understand if he did. It would break his heart, but he would understand. He knew he’d broken Keith’s heart thoroughly. He deserved to suffer a similar fate.

But he couldn’t die. He couldn’t let himself die. Keith was too much a part of him. If he left or if Keith left, Lance wasn’t sure either of them would survive the experience. Or, more likely, Lance suspected Keith would waste away and die. But Lance knew he himself would survive because Allura needed him. As long as Allura needed her Sentinel, as long as she needed a shield and sword to protect her, Lance would live on to do just that. Nothing else. Just that.

A roar rocked his senses, causing him to wince from the sheer volume and power. He winced and lifted his shoulders in a vain attempt to cover his ears even though he knew the roar was inside his head and not out. A torrent of emotions that were not his own overwhelmed his mind. Fear, fury, denial, possession, comfort, worry. It was the warm water that soothed the burn of his dark thoughts.

Then the water froze in his gut, settling in his core where it belonged. Lance shivered as the Blue Lion continued to soothe him and purr a gentle, steady rhythm in his mind. At the same time, he felt the red paladin’s body begin to grow warm in his embrace. It gave him hope.

He drew on that hope and gathered Keith up in his arms. He staggered briefly as he struggled to his feet. A large hand on his back stopped him from losing his balance and he looked over to its owner. Hunk stood there by his side.

Lance had completely forgotten the yellow paladin was there. Keith had been the sole possessor of the prince’s attention from the moment the healing pod beeped, startling him awake. He and Hunk had managed to get to their feet in time for the pod’s shield to lift.

For a tick there, Lance saw one of Keith’s legs move and hoped the red paladin would wake up and walk out good as new. But then the leg had given way under Keith’s weight sending his body forward into Lance’s waiting arms.

“Do you need any help?” Hunk asked.

Lance knew the yellow paladin didn’t mean the words as an insult. Everyone on their team was definitely exhausted mentally, emotionally, physically… Lance wondered briefly how they would ever manage to form Voltron with all of the distrust and division plaguing their team. The Blue Lion filled his anxious mind with a rumbling purr. Lance took her advice and stopped dwelling on what could be. Right now, he had to carry his…his mate to bed where he could rest.

“You don’t have to do this alone, Lance,” Hunk said, worry and caring in his eyes.

The prince hesitated. He blinked away another waterfall of tears and sighed, bowing his head. Keith’s head lolled against his shoulder, his nose brushing Lance’s neck and one of his ears tickled the prince’s chin.

“I know,” he said eventually, his lips twitching upwards in a weak smile. “I know,” he said again. “Just… Just make sure I don’t fall.”

“I can do that,” Hunk said, pressing a supportive hand against the center of the prince’s back. “I got your back.”

Lance looked up at the yellow paladin in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it and fell silent. Together, he and Hunk made their way out of the healing pod chamber and into the lift. Hunk never tried to convince Lance to speak. He just kept his hand in the center of the prince’s back and made sure to walk at the same pace as Lance. The yellow paladin’s presence was comforting and sturdy like the earth and rock. He really was the perfect fit for the Yellow Lion; debatably better even than the previous yellow paladin. A reverberating sound filtered into his mind in the Blue Lion’s form of laughter.

When they stepped out of the lift, Lance and Hunk made their way down the hallway past the other paladins’ quarters. Lance slowed his steps and felt Hunk’s confusion when he stopped in front of a room that wasn’t Keith’s. Then Hunk recognized it and grimaced.

Lance hesitated, unable to free one of his hands to unlock his bedroom door. Hunk used his free arm to support Keith’s upper body, holding him in place against Lance’s chest. The prince nodded in silent thanks and waved his hand by the access panel. The crystals flashed and the door hissed open with a soft chime. Lance quickly replaced his arm around Keith’s body, nodding again when Hunk returned control to him before stepping into his room.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Hunk asked causing Lance to pause just inside the doorway. “I could leave if you want.”

The prince hesitated, swallowing nervously. Eventually he shook his head. “No. S-stay,” he whispered. “I…” He bowed his head and continued towards his bed. “I don’t want to be alone right now. It…wouldn’t be wise.”

“Okay, then I’ll stay.” Without another word, the yellow paladin entered the prince’s room and the door slid shut behind him. “Do you need anything?” he asked after a few ticks of silence.

Lance gently lay Keith down on his bed, pulling the sheet and blankets out from under the red paladin’s body. He removed Keith’s shoes and dropped them on the floor beside the bed. Then Lance tugged the covers up over Keith’s form, tucking them around him just like his mother used to do.

“Not really,” he said listlessly. He sighed and leaned on the bed. “You don’t have to stay, if you don’t want to. If you want to go help the others, you can. I’m not trying to keep you from them.”

“Yeah, about that,” Hunk said, coming over to Lance’s side and dropping a warm, heavy hand on the prince’s shoulder. “I think they’ll be fine without me. Coran came while you were asleep. Allura’s resting right now and Shiro is under watch.”

“Under watch?” Lance asked.

“Yeah,” Hunk said grimly. “Sendak got into his head and scrambled it up like Humpty Dumpty.”

The prince blinked mildly and lifted his gaze to the yellow paladin in confusion. “Like what?”

“Oh, ah, nothing,” Hunk said quickly. “Just an Earth thing.”

Lance nodded. “I see.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, resting a hand in Keith’s hair. After a teck or so of silence except for the usual comforting sounds of the Castle’s inner workings, Lance sighed.

“What did I do?”

Hunk stiffened. “What do you mean?” he asked carefully. “You do remember, don’t yo-”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Hunk. Of _course,_ I remember,” Lance snapped immediately wilting under the yellow paladin’s hurt expression. “I mean… What did I _do?”_

* * *

Hunk pressed his lips together in a thin line and studied the blue paladin carefully. Lance’s eyes were wide and horror-stricken. It did things to Hunk’s heart that he wasn’t sure what to make of.

“You… You attacked us,” he said simply.

Lance nodded. “I know,” he said, staring fixedly at the floor. “I remember that. I thought… I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“It was the warped quintessence,” Hunk said, stepping up to his friend. “Coran sai-”

“Coran was wrong,” Lance said, cutting off the yellow paladin’s words. “Or, not wrong so much as mistaken.”

Hunk stilled but didn’t back away. “What do you mean?” he asked patiently. “Did you want to hurt us?”

“Yes,” Lance answered honestly, lifting his gaze to Hunk’s. “I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to kill you. You were a threat.”

“A threat?” Hunk gasped. “Why would you think that?”

“Because Father said you were,” Lance said. He held Hunk’s gaze steadily before wincing and looking down. “And because I…wasn’t myself.”

“So the quintessence did mess you up,” Hunk murmured.

Lance grimaced. “It did, yes, but it doesn’t excuse my actions,” he said slowly. “I did want to kill you. That much is true. I saw you, all of you, as a threat. I was afraid of you. And I hated Keith.”

“Now you’re not making sense,” Hunk said seriously. “If you hate Keith, then why did you have…you know, with him?”

Despite his best efforts, Lance snorted a laughed. “You really can’t say ‘sex,’ can you?” Lance asked, glancing up at Hunk in amusement before wincing and looking down again.

The move caught the yellow paladin’s attention. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“It’s-”

“Say ‘it’s nothing,’ and I might have to hurt you,” Hunk warned.

The prince’s lips twitched upwards. “Actually, I was going to say my eye hurts,” he said. “But, I suppose in the grand scheme of things, it is nothing.” He grunted when something smacked the back of his head. He clapped both of his hands over the sore bump on his skull and looked up at Hunk in disgruntled shock. “You _hit_ me!”

“Uh, yeah? I did say I would have to hurt you if you said it was ‘nothing,’ didn’t I?” Hunk said, crossing his arms and giving the prince a flat stare. Then the dim light from the starry sky in the view screen on Lance’s wall hit the prince’s right eye and Hunk gasped. “By Pele, what the heck happened to your eye?”

Lance grimaced and looked away, rubbing his no-doubt aching eye. “I got electrocuted, if you recall,” he said wryly. “The eye is metal and even with shielding, it can’t withstand a powerful enough electrical shock.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Hunk cried in dismay.

“Because it’s not important right now,” Lance said. _“Besides,”_ he said louder, over Hunk’s counterargument, “there’s nothing we can do about it anyway. Not at the moment at least. It doesn’t hurt that bad right now.”

“Just when you look up,” Hunk said, nodding.

Lance winced but nodded. “It’s any movement involving rolling my eye, actually,” he corrected. “But yes, it hurts to look up.”

“I’m sorry,” Hunk said.

Lance sighed. “Why are you sorry?” he demanded. “I’m the one who attacked you without provocation.”

“About that, why did you want to kill us? And what was with that lie about hating Keith?” Hunk asked.

The prince frowned. “Did you know my father was the Sentinel before me?” he asked, glancing up. Hunk shook his head. “He was. He chose me as the next Sentinel after rejecting the first choice.”

“Who was the first choice?” Hunk asked, stepping cautiously up to Lance. He sat slowly on the bed so as not to disturb Keith, although he suspected the red paladin was at least conscious if not fully awake.

“Lauma,” the prince said turning where he sat to gaze at Keith’s still face. “My older sister. The second oldest. Allura was the third eldest.”

“Why was she rejected? If you don’t mind me asking,” Hunk added quickly.

Lance pressed his lips together and sighed through his nose. “She did something Father found…unacceptable,” he said slowly. “So, he rejected her and chose me instead.”

“What did she do?” Hunk pressed gently, studying Lance’s face carefully.

The prince glared down at the red paladin’s face, not really seeing him so much as the memory playing out in his mind. He blinked back to the present and removed his hand from Keith’s hair, letting it slide down the red paladin’s face to trace his cheeks. He didn’t answer the yellow paladin’s question aloud, but Hunk saw the way Lance sighed and rubbed his thumb over the cheek bone back to the corner of Keith’s closed eye.

“She fell in love with a Galra, didn’t she,” Hunk said, not really surprised when he saw Lance nod. “And your father didn’t like that.”

“He had his reasons,” Lance hedged. “I didn’t necessarily agree with them, but…” He shrugged. “Either way, he rejected her and chose me instead. I didn’t want it,” he bit out after a few seconds. “I just wanted to be a Master Pilot. I just wanted to fly. But I knew Father wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, and I kept thinking if I became the Sentinel, then I could travel with Allura, the Heir, as her personal pilot. I could protect her and fly and see the universe.” He smiled. “How could I say no to that?”

“Is that why he- Alfor made you choose between Keith and Allura?” Hunk asked gently.

“That _thing_ was not Alfor,” Lance growled. “That was _not_ my father. Alfor rejected Lauma, yes. He rejected her because she was mated to a Galra, yes. But not because of the reasons you’re probably thinking.”

“Then explain it to me,” Hunk said, sounding faintly desperate.

“It wasn-” Lance bit off his words and refused to continue. When Hunk realized he wasn’t going to get an answer, he sighed.

“Lance,” Hunk said, “you know secrets are the last thing we need dividing us right now.” Lance remained silent so Hunk shook his head. “Alright, I won’t press. But what does that have to do with you wanting to kill us and hating Keith?” he asked again.

Lance groaned. “Isn’t it obvious?” he said, looking up at Hunk in exasperation.

The yellow paladin tried to make his confusion as evident as possible. He must have succeeded because the prince groaned and hung his head. “I wanted to kill you because I thought you were going to hurt Allura. I hated Keith because he represents everything that destroyed practically everything I love. Father said he was a Galra so that’s all I saw.”

“But that was the messed up quintessence,” Hunk said. “You can’t be blamed for that. You weren’t aware-”  

“I _was_ aware,” Lance said. “I _was_ aware and _everything_ I thought, felt, and said during that time was true. None of it was fake. But they weren’t…”

Lance pressed his lips together and Hunk felt guilt creep into his heart, but he refused to back down now. “They weren’t what, Lance?” he asked.

“Just because I feel that sometimes doesn’t mean I’d ever _act_ on it,” Lance said in despair. “All the warped quintessence did was magnify the negative thoughts and emotions. They were _always_ there, just not… Yes, I want to kill you. Or, not _kill_ you per se, but I want you to go away. I want all of you to just go away.  I want _everything_ to go away. I want it to just go back to the way it was before everything went to the Magog.”

“I wish you hadn’t woken us up,” Lance continued. “I wish you’d never found the Yellow Lion. I wish the Great War hadn’t happened. I wish Altea was still here. I wish… I want…” He sobbed, leaning down to rest his head on Keith’s chest. “I want to go _home_. I want to see Alwida and Latif’s smiling faces again. I want my- I want my mother.”

He sobbed openly. “I can’t get their faces out of my head,” he said through his tears. “Every night I dream about them but I can barely remember their smiles anymore. I just keep seeing their faces melting away in front of me, hearing Alwida’s screams as the acid burns her mouth and throat into goop as she scratches herself raw to make the hurt go away, I keep feeling her body fall limp in my arms as she dies. And I feel _relieved!_ I was _relieved_ she’d died. I was relieved when they _all_ died and the screams stopped. I didn’t run for help, I didn’t do anything except stand there and watch them _die!”_

A hand rested on his head and began brushing his hair.

“She was only ten periods old,” he whispered hoarsely. “I couldn’t help her. When it mattered, I couldn’t do anything but watch.” He shook his head and gripped the sheets separating his face from Keith’s shirt. “I just want to sleep through the night without seeing them die again. I just want… I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

The hand in his hair slipped down to the damaged eyescale by his right eye and traced a sharp nail along the ragged edges. Lance flinched and lifted his head to stare wide-eyed at Keith’s open and alert eyes. The blood fled from his face to his legs making them tingle with the desire to flee but he couldn’t move, rooted to the spot by fear.

“Do you still hate me?” Keith whispered softly.

Lance swallowed over his dry throat, unable to look away while Keith waited patiently for answer. Eventually, the prince closed his eyes and hung his head in defeat. “No,” he breathed. “I’m so sorry. I’m so-”

A thumb pressed against Lance’s lips, holding them together so he couldn’t finish his apology.

“I told you before,” Keith said. “I forgive you.”

Lance shook his head. “No. No, you can’t just forgive me. I rejected you. I almost _killed_ you because I couldn’t control my temper. You can’t just _forgive_ me.”

“Yes I can.”

 _“How?”_ Lance cried, staring at Keith desperately. “How? _Why?”_

“Because I love you,” Keith replied simply.


	35. Aquamarine: banishes fear, calms nerves, imparts strength and control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hunk knows when to leave and Lance and Keith finally, _finally_ begin to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Sorry I didn't post last night like I intended to. I'm taking this new meds and ended up having the mother of all migraines that successfully knocked me off my feet. I literally tried taking a hot bath, then a hot shower, then ended up crying and going to bed at 9:30. I slept until 7:30am this morning. 
> 
> I'm taking the meds again today and if I get another migraine, I won't be taking it again. Ever. I'd rather be sleep deprived than have migraines every day.
> 
>  **phorminx:** ancient version of a guitar, possibly one of the first string instruments ever made

The moment those words left Keith’s mouth, Hunk knew he was intruding on something private. He ducked his head, a blush coloring his cheeks, and quickly stepped out of Lance’s room. He debated looking for Allura but then he remembered the state Shiro had been in when he’d left him and decided to go to Shiro’s quarters instead.

He wouldn’t speak about what he’d heard between Keith and Lance until they gave to O.K. But he needed someone to talk to regarding what Lance had said about his experience under the warped quintessence’s influence. Lance had said Coran was mistaken about what happened to him and something about Lance’s explanation regarding Alfor’s actions sounded…off.

This wasn’t the time for secrets. Not anymore. They were too divided. They couldn’t afford to keep secrets from each other like they had been. It was ripping them apart.

* * *

 

Lance stared down at Keith’s eyes in shock. He searched desperately for any signs of falsehood. Or perhaps not that, so much as an overstatement. Nothing. The red paladin’s expression was entirely open and honest, and it was like a punch to the gut.

“No,” he whispered, gripping the red paladin’s shirt in a white-knuckled grip. “No, Keith. Take it back.”

Keith’s expression slipped into one of confusion before fading to sadness, his ears pinning back against his head. “Lance,” he breathed, hurt coloring his tone.

“Take it back, Keith. Please,” Lance begged. “Please, _please,_ take it back. You don’t mean it. You _can’t_ mean it.”

“But I _do_ mean it,” Keith insisted, reaching up to catch the prince’s chin between his fingers and hold his gaze. “I _do_ mean it,” he said slowly, emphasizing every word. “I would never lie about that.”

“Then take it back,” Lance pleaded. “Please Keith. You don’t want me. You-”

He tried to shake off the fingers Keith pressed to his lips only to have the red paladin place his entire hand over his mouth. “Don’t say that,” Keith said softly, tears forming in his eyes. “Please don’t say that. It’s not true. I _do_ want you, in so many ways. I want to be near you. I want to listen to you. I want to look at you. I want to hold you. I want to love you. I wouldn’t have said ‘I love you’ if I didn’t mean it.”

Lance closed his eyes and shook his head, muffled sobs wafting from behind Keith’s silencing hand and Keith felt fear close around his heart.

"Lance, please believe me," he begged. "I'm not toying with you or lying or even blowing things out of proportion. I'm telling you the truth." Lance shuddered when Keith removed his hand in favor of weaving his fingers through the prince's hair. "Lance," he whispered pleadingly. "Lance please. Don't tell me to take it back. I won't. I never will."

"Why?" Lance whispered desperately. "I'm not the one for you. Don't you understand? You've seen what I can do. You've seen what I'm capable of, what my _temper_ is capable of. I attacked our team-"

"You were possessed."

"But the emotions were still true!"

"And you said yourself you would never act on them," Keith said firmly. "I was listening, Lance. I heard everything." The prince's face paled considerably and he hung his head, but Keith refused to stop caressing his head. "Lance, I heard you tell Hunk about your father, why he rejected Lauma and chose you. I heard that, and still you chose me when that A.I. forced you to choose. Do you have any idea how much that means to me?"

He tilted the prince's head up so he could gaze into those beautiful, mismatched blue eyes he adored so much. "I heard you," he said softly. "I heard you tell me how sorry you were. You didn't think I heard you, but I did. But in all of that, not once did you ask for forgiveness."

"I don't deserve it."

"But you do!" Keith cried. "You do. What happened to make you so self-critical?"

Lance looked down and away from Keith's face, but said nothing.

"Even now, you won't tell me?" Keith whispered, moving his hand down so cup Lance's face, stroking the cheek bone with his thumb. "Are you afraid?" Lance shut his eyes. "What are you afraid of? Me?"

Lance sighed through his nose and admitted softly, "Partially, yes."

Keith stiffened but refused to back down. "Because of what happened in the pod?" he asked.

"You didn't see your face," Lance murmured, shuddering. "Your eyes... They weren't... They were so... Galra." Keith flinched but Lance continued. "It reminded me of Sendak."

Keith felt his heart drop. He swallowed thickly. "I...I'm so-"

"Don't," Lance murmured, pressing a single finger against Keith's lips. "I know that wasn't you."

Keith grabbed the prince’s hand in an almost painful grip and glowered at Lance. “Why can’t I apologize?” he demanded. “Why is it that only you can apologize and I can’t? I know I hurt you,” he said fiercely. “I _know_ I did. I saw your face when I came out of it. You were _terrified._ ” Lance winced and looked away. “I’m sorry, Lance. I should never have let my instincts control me like that.” He let his head fall back on the pillow with a sigh. “I’m usually better than that.”

Lance was silent for several ticks before sighing and leaning down to rest his head on Keith’s chest. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. He felt the red paladin’s chest rise and fall in a sigh. “I think…” His heart ached and his stomach danced with starbug wings. “I think I may be in love with you,” he said almost too softly to be heard. But he felt Keith’s chest give a stuttered movement in surprise and knew his words hadn’t been missed. “And that terrifies me.”

“May I ask why?” Keith asked after a tick.

“Because,” Lance said with a sigh, “I’m broken, Keith. I have so many problems, so many secrets, some I may never be able to tell you, and I…” He closed his eyes and tried to imagine life like this: safe in Keith’s embrace, relaxed and at ease, and no war to demand his attention. “I don’t know how to love like you need me to. I can flirt and I can play, but I don’t know how to love. I have no experience. I don’t even know what to say to make someone love me back.”

“You don’t have to for me,” Keith said, resting a hand on Lance’s back and rubbing along the prince’s spine in soothing motions. “I already love you.”

A tear escaped Lance’s eye, trailing over the bridge of his nose and down his other cheek. “Why though? Why me?”

Keith thought for a moment. “Because you’re decisive,” he said, startling the prince. “When you make a decision, you stick with it. You’re loyal. Stupidly loyal.”

Lance made to sit up and give Keith and annoyed glare but the hand on his back held him in place so he relaxed and continued to listen.

“You’ll do anything to protect the people you care about,” Keith said. “You’re ready to do what needs to be done to get what you need.”

Lance grimaced, reminded of what he’d planned to do with Keith after escaping the Galra battlecruiser before he decided he liked the halfbreed.

“You’re beautiful,” Keith said in a tone that was so casual that it took Lance a tick to comprehend what Keith said and blush a bright, vibrant red. “Your eyes are entrancing. And I don’t know if you realize it, but you have this way of moving that reminds me of waves. Smooth and rhythmic. You sway your hips when you walk and it’s very hard not to stare at your bottom when that happens. And your voice is like…”

Lance waited in silence, flushed and heart fluttering. This was not what he’d been expecting when he’d asked Keith why he loved him. He’d been expecting to only hear something along the lines of, ‘because you’re my mate,’ and that be the end of it. But this was something much deeper, more thought out, and much more than a simple mating would cause Keith to think or feel. It left Lance speechless and fumbling for a response to all of this.

“Your voice is like the call of wake angels,” Keith said. “I’ve only ever heard them once but I thought it was the most entrancing sound I’d ever heard.” The hand on Lance’s back moved up to grasp the back of Lance’s neck gently. “Until I heard your voice.”

Lance may have whimpered a bit. Perhaps Keith did it because he heard it and wanted to comfort him or perhaps Keith did it because he simply wanted to. Either way, when the hand on his neck began to massage the tense muscles there, Lance felt his heart stutter and his breath catch. Whether Keith realized it or not, the hold was possessive and comforting in a way Lance never thought he would feel or understand.

“When I first saw you on that battlecruiser,” Keith said, “I thought you were a nuisance. A nuisance with a pretty face, but a nuisance nonetheless. Then you changed your form and I was stunned. Even though you were clearly a captive of that bastard,” he squeezed Lance’s neck soothingly, “you still found the energy to tease me. But when you bared your throat to me…”

“I was testing you,” Lance said, toying with the fabric of Keith’s shirt, unwilling to meet the red paladin’s eyes from the shame of the memory. “I had to know which sexual caste you fell into.”

“I know,” Keith said. “I knew then too. I pointed it out, if you recall. I knew exactly what you were doing but I let you do it because I was selfish and wanted you to do it. You were the only one who had ever willingly submitted to me before. I admit, I was confused when you flirted with me. But when you didn’t stop, even after we’d escaped and before you found out I’d mated you, it… I didn’t want you to stop.” He squeezed Lance’s neck again, teasing the sensitive skin with his nails. “I never want you to stop.”

Lance breathed a dangerously unsteady sigh. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.

“But however much I love hearing you speak to me,” Keith said, tightening his hold on Lance’s neck and brushing a sharp nail down the curve of the prince’s chin, “I adore hearing you say my full name; particularly when you’re falling apart as I pound you into the bed and-”

“Alright,” Lance said, pushing himself up from Keith’s chest. “I think that’s enou-”

Suddenly, his back hit the bed and Keith was on top of him. The red paladin’s hands pinned Lance’s biceps to the sheets and his legs straddled the prince’s hips. There was nowhere for Lance to go, nowhere to hide, and no way to escape. It sent a thrill through Lance’s body setting his nerves alight with tingling sensitivity. He focused on keeping his breathing calm and even as he looked up into Keith’s eyes directly above him.

“I wasn’t finished,” Keith said.

Lance swallowed thickly but found he couldn’t look away from those dark violet and gold eyes. So he allowed himself to sink into the mattress and resigned himself to listening to Keith speak.

“Good boy.”

Lance shivered and Keith smirked.

“You thought I missed that, didn’t you?” he whispered to the startled prince. “You thought I missed how you react when I praise you. I don’t miss much when it comes to you, Lance.”

The flush that had been slowly fading from Lance’s cheeks as he forced himself to relax returned with a flaming vengeance.

“I don’t miss the way you blush and your scent thickens when you feel my eyes on you. I don’t miss the way you enjoy being pinned and taken by me over and over again,” he said in a low voice that did unholy things to the prince’s heart. Keith’s violet eyes darkened making his golden eyes glow in the shadow he cast over Lance’s body. “I don’t miss the way you sigh and squeeze me when I knot inside you like it's everything you ever wanted.” One of Lance’s legs twitched. “I don’t miss the way you beg for more even as you resist my commands to submit.”

Keith grinned all teeth and it was cruel and sultry and Lance loved the way it made his breathing hitch. “Speaking of,” Keith said, leaning down so his forearms rested on the bed but never released Lance’s arms from his grip. “I don’t miss the way you resist my commands even though we both know you always submit in the end.” He leaned lower so his lips brushed Lance’s with every word he spoke, teasing the prince by being just out of reach. “Admit it, Lance,” he murmured, his hot breath tantalizing against the prince’s skin. “You want to submit to me. You want me to take the control from you and let you follow and obey. You know I will stop if you tell me to. You know you’re safe with me.”

Lance couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think or form words. His body was singing like a perfectly tuned phorminx string.

“I don’t miss much,” Keith whispered before leaning back, smirking when Lance instinctively tried to lift his head to follow. Then his smirk softened to something tender. “I love you, Lance,” he said, watching the prince’s cheeks burn and loving the fact he was responsible for it. “I love you so much it hurts.”

Lance had no words. He couldn’t find his voice. He could barely breathe. It felt like his entire body was tingling with energy but he was too afraid to move. This was safe. This was all he ever wanted but never dared dream would actually become reality. This wasn’t healthy. Nor was this perfect. But this was what they had.

He lifted his forearm and wrapped his fingers gently around Keith’s arm, unable to move any further as long as his biceps were still pinned to the bed. This was real. It was terrifying, but this was safe. Here was safe.

He tried to speak, but again words failed him. He swallowed and tried once more.

“Oh.”

He flushed, feeling stupid and pathetic. Of all the things he could have said, the only thing to come out of his mouth was ‘oh.’ He wanted to sink into the mattress and die of shame. Too bad physics prevented that.

“I…um.” He licked his lips nervously, feeling Keith’s eyes on him, watching his every move, and found it incredibly hard to focus. “I…I’m sorry.”

Keith sighed and Lance hurried to correct himself.

“No. No, it’s not what you think,” he said quickly, tightening his hold on Keith’s arm. “I’m sorry for having trouble with words.” He gulped. “I’m not… I’ve never courted anyone before. I’ve never even been interested in anyone in that way before. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Neither do I,” Keith said. “You’re my first everything, to be honest.”

Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes, that… Mm. No pressure or anything,” he mumbled. Keith chuckled and it made Lance’s heart jump. “I’ve seen a few people courting on Altea but they never involved me. Lauma taught me most of what I know and that worked out well until…” He bit his lip and looked away.

“I’m sorry,” Keith said sympathetically.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Lance said. “Besides, you probably wouldn't be sorry if you knew…”

“If I knew what?”

Lance glanced up at Keith, saw those wide, curious eyes with no hatred or distrust in them and wanted so badly to tell Keith everything. But would Allura approve? Was it really his place to say? Would it be best if Keith knew? Would Keith think less of him if he knew?

Lance sighed. Perhaps just a bit wouldn’t hurt, too much.

“Did you know I’m a Druid?” he asked timidly.

Keith winced but nodded. “I figured it out when I saw you attack us like a Druid,” he said grimly. “Have you always been able to…do that?”

Lance sighed and rubbed Keith’s arm absently with his fingers. “Yes and no,” he said, shifting his gaze to the ceiling over Keith’s shoulder. “No, I didn’t know how before I was taught. But yes, I was always capable of it. Not all Druids are capable of doing that naturally, but most can be taught although their skills will vary widely.”

Keith hesitated before asking, “Why didn’t you ever use that lightning bolt power before? We could have used that on the battlecruiser or on the Balmera.”

Lance sighed. “Because it’s dangerous to both the user and the victim,” he said. “It’s more draining than almost any other attack. Also, if my concentration drifts ever so slightly, I could lose control and harm myself as well as my victim.”

Keith nodded slowly, allowing himself to ease down so he lay entirely on Lance’s body. When the prince didn’t seem to mind, he freed Lance’s arms from his grip in favor of folding them on his mate’s chest and resting his chin on them.

“So, what aren’t you telling me about it?” he asked, eyeing Lance shrewdly.

He bounced when Lance huffed, flicking his ears mildly at the abrupt movement before letting them relax again.

“You’re sharp when you feel like it,” Lance teased in mild annoyance.

Keith shrugged. “I’m always sharp,” he said. “I just prefer to keep my claws retracted most of the time.”

“Yes, well if your wit was as sharp as your claws, then you would have clawed off my clothes by now,” Lance snarked.

Keith lifted an eyebrow and flicked an ear. “I don’t think that would be the best thing to do right now,” he said.

Immediately, Lance sobered. “No, I suppose not,” he agreed reluctantly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Keith said, reaching out and tapping Lance’s chest with his fingernail. “Although, don’t think I haven’t noticed your deflection. I want an answer to my question.”

Lance groaned but sighed as he thought about his answer. “It’s… Throwing a quintessence bolt is dangerous, as I said before. But I didn’t tell you why it was dangerous.”

“You said you could lose control of it,” Keith countered.

Lance nodded. “Yes, but I didn’t tell you why.” He shifted to a more comfortable position, wrapping his arms around Keith’s back. “It’s dangerous because it requires opening one’s quintessence up to manipulation. It’s the time when we’re most powerful, but it’s also the time when we’re most vulnerable. During that time one could, theoretically, take control of someone else’s quintessence and use it as energy to replace our own waning quintessence. But it also means our opponent could do the same.”

Keith hummed. “And if they did steal your quintessence?”

“Then they could essentially bleed me dry until I become nothing but a withered husk,” Lance answered. “Or…”

Keith made no audible show of interest, but his ears did flick up attentively.

“Or,” Lance said cautiously, “if I’m fast enough, I could resonate with them and destroy us both.” He shrugged. “If I’m lucky, I could ascend before dying completely myself, but that would be stupid because I could accidentally take them with me. The last thing we would need was an overpowered Druid with all of the innate abilities that come with ascending. Not to mention they would have access to the Eternal River.”

Keith flicked his ears and settled his chin on his arms.

“You have no idea what I just said, do you?” Lance said with a tolerant smile.

Keith flushed. “I understand some of it,” he said. “I just did my best to avoid the Druids. They were bad news.”

“Mm. And me?” Lance asked.

Keith eyed the prince. “Meh, interesting at best but hardly something I can’t handle.”

He smirked and Lance smacked him in the head. It didn’t wipe the smirk from Keith’s face, in fact it made it bigger, but it made Lance feel better. They spent the rest of the evening talking. It wasn't until they settled into a calm silence that Lance found the courage to ask a question that had been burning in his mind.

"I won't do it right," he said in a soft voice. "I'll probably mess up often, actually. But, if you'll allow it, I'd like... I'd like to court you, Keithek."

Keith lifted his head and gazed down at Lance with wide eyes glazed with sleep. But his smile was brighter than the Daystar and warmed Lance's heart a thousand times more. "I'd like that," Keith said.

Eventually they fell sleep, both with smiles on their faces. Though neither of them could remember who fell asleep first.


	36. Amethyst: encourages inner peace, stone of meditation and spirituality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hunk finds answers with Coran and Shiro and creates more questions in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Sorry this is shorter than usual. My family is dogsitting a Christmas puppy for a friend and I swear I am not getting much sleep. The thing has a loud, shrill bark/howl/whine and is currently in my room. I now have a splitting headache. So I managed to write as much as I could before calling it a night.
> 
> That said, Merry Christmas~!

Shiro sat on his bunk with his elbows on his thighs and his head in his hands. Coran sat by his side with a comforting hand on his back. The advisor had stayed by Shiro’s side since he first found him. He had patiently listened to Shiro babble through his panic attack and made no show of any emotion other than concern and sympathy. Coran’s steadfast presence became a pillar of stability that Shiro grasped and held on tight to. He used the advisor to wrangle himself out of his spiraling panic and back to the present.

Sendak was gone, dead, ejected into space. He wasn’t coming back. He couldn’t come back. Sendak was gone permanently.

Shiro took a deep breath and let it out in a long, steady sigh. “Thanks,” he said wearily, “for tolerating me.”

“I wasn’t tolerating anything, Shiro,” Coran said gently. “I was needed. I don’t consider being there when a friend needs me to be a _job_. It’s something I am proud to do. You’re my friend, Shiro.” He smiled when the black paladin looked up at him with puffy, reddened eyes. “You needed me and I was here. I will _always_ be here when you need me.”

A fragile smile made its way across Shiro’s face before he rested his chin on his hands. He sighed again in exhaustion. “That really means a lot,” Shiro said. “I’m sorry I made a mess of myself.”

Coran groaned. “First of all,” he said, holding up one finger, “you did _not_ make a mess of yourself. You were tortured. Torture takes many forms, Shiro. Many of those forms leave no visible scars. Those forms are the often the cruelest forms of torture. No one knows you’ve suffered, no one knows you’re in pain because there are no visible signs until a breakdown is inevitable.”

Shiro closed his eyes and nodded mutely.

“Secondly,” Coran continued, “I cannot even begin to imagine what you went through, Shiro. I can guess but I doubt my guesses are anywhere near the reality. I’m so very sorry you had to suffer like that. I wish I could take at least some of your pain from your shoulders. But all I can do is listen and be there.”

“And that’s a lot,” Shiro said looking up at Coran sincerely. “It really is a lot. Just having you listen is…” He shrugged. “I guess what I’m trying to say is thank you. You didn’t have to.”

“No, I don’t suppose I did,” Coran said. “But, like I said before, I didn’t do it because I had to. I did it because you’re my friend and I wanted to.”

A faint smile grew on the black paladin’s face. “You know, on the flipside,” he said, “if there’s anything _you_ need to talk about, I’m all ears.”

For some reason, Coran gave Shiro the oddest look, which morphed into a warm, welcoming smile. “You already have listened to me before,” he said. “You listened for a good long while when you helped me in the crystal chamber, if I recall correctly.”

Shiro grinned. “It’s not a one-time offer,” he said.

Whatever Coran was going to say was cut off by a soft chime at the black paladin’s door.

“Hello?” Shiro called curiously.

The door slid open to reveal the yellow paladin standing awkwardly in the hallway, rubbing his hands together nervously. “Uh, h-hi,” Hunk said with a shaky smile. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“No, no. Come on in,” Shiro said, waving Hunk inside. “Coran said you were the one who found me when I…”

“Oh, uh, yeah, I did.” Hunk stepped inside and studied Shiro’s face closely for a few seconds. “How are you doing now, by the way? Are you feeling any better?”

“I’m…well, I’m not fine,” Shiro said reluctantly. “But I’m okay for now, I suppose. What did you need?”

“I, um, I actually had a question for Coran,” he said, turning his eyes to the advisor.

“Oh, would you like to talk in private?” Coran asked.

“No, it’s not like that,” Hunk said quickly. “Actually, I think you need to hear this too, Shiro.”

The black paladin sat up straighter and gestured for Hunk so sit on his bunk next to him. “What is it?” he asked.

The yellow paladin sat down slowly and took a minute to compose himself before putting his question into words.  “I…” He licked his lips and tried again. “I talked to Lance…about what happened. H-He said you were wrong about the warped quintessence stuff.”

“How do you mean?” Coran asked, intrigued.

Hunk bit his lip and his eyes flickered to Shiro before looking away. “He said the quintessence didn’t…” He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “He implied the quintessence didn’t control him like a puppet so much as- how did he put it- amplify his negative thoughts and emotions. He said the desire to kill us or,” he shrugged, “make us go away was always there. He just never acted on it until the warped quintessence made him do it. What did he mean by that?”

Coran looked confused and mildly regretful. “Oh dear,” he muttered.

“It sounds to me like his ability to resist was muted,” Shiro said softly, glancing at Coran for confirmation. “I… I think I remember something like that happening in the arena. It usually involved a prisoner who refused to fight for some reason so a Druid would,” he waved his hand, “do something to them and suddenly they were out fighting without a problem.”

“Y-yes,” the advisor agreed slowly. “That does sound... Oh, by the Lions,” he groaned.

“So, you mean Lance meant what he said when wanted to kill us?” Hunk asked, looking between the two other men with wide eyes.

“Put it this way,” Coran said. “If someone hurt your best friend, hurt them very badly, for a brief moment you would want them to hurt too, right? Make them suffer for hurting your friend? Like maybe punch them in the face?” Hunk nodded reluctantly, a shameful blush in his cheeks. “But you resist the urge to punch them because violence merely begets violence.” Again, Hunk nodded, but this time with less shame. “That is your ability to resist. You resisted the desire to hurt your friend’s assailant, but it didn’t stop you from still wishing, however briefly, they would suffer.”

Hunk flushed which was answer enough. Coran sighed and pursed his lips. “Then to borrow that example, if I understand what you tell me Lance said alright, the warped quintessence amplified Lance’s desire to harm his friend’s assailant but muted his ability to resist that urge and stop himself before causing harm.”

Shiro nodded. “That makes sense,” he admitted. “Take away a person’s self-control, and even the best person can become a monster.”

Coran shot the black paladin a sharp look which Shiro didn’t miss. Thankfully, Shiro offered the advisor a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”

Coran nodded and turned back to Hunk. “Did that explanation help at all?” he asked.

Hunk nodded. “It-yeah it did.” He dropped his gaze to his hands. “He said something else though. About Alfor, or-“ he corrected quickly, “that A.I. Alfor thing that tried to kill us.”

The Altean advisor winced but hummed. “Go on.”

“He said he hated Keith when he was under the influence,” Hunk began, “because his father told him Keith was a Galra. So, that’s all he saw when he looked at Keith, a Galra.”

Coran hummed thoughtfully. “As I’ve said, Alteans were a peaceful people,” he said. “We never got involved in wars or political affairs if we could avoid it. But we were known for our peaceful explorations, diplomatic neutrality, and our drive to aid anyone who needed it. The Galra were once our ally in the latter venture.”

“Yeah, I have a hard time seeing that in my head,” Hunk admitted.

“Yes well, they weren’t always as hateful as they are now,” Coran said. “In fact, one of the previous paladins of Voltron was a Galra.”

“What?” both Shiro and Hunk gasped in shocked horror.

“Oh yes,” Coran continued easily. “One paladin was a Galra, two were Teiidae, and two were Altean. The Lions of Voltron don’t pay heed to something as superfluous as race or species. They look at the quintessence, the very essence of their chosen paladin. None of them were evil to begin with.”

“Who was it?” Hunk asked warily. “The Galran paladin, which Lion did they pilot?”

Coran hesitated, then shook his head. “I would tell you, but I don’t want you to judge that particular Lion or paladin based on a previous paladin. No one is perfect, Hunk. Everyone makes mistakes, even the Lions of Voltron.” He sighed and looked away. “And people change.”

Hunk nodded slowly, absorbing the information. It was Shiro who spoke up next.

“But, you were saying about the Alteans and the Galra?” the black paladin pressed.

“Hm? Oh, right.” The advisor sat up and continued his narrative. “Well, as I said, Alteans and Galra were allies at the time. But when they betrayed us and started the Great War… Well, needless to say, it changed things.”

“I bet,” Hunk mumbled just loud enough to hear.

“From birth, Alteans are taught never to judge or discriminate against another based on their appearance, but by their character,” Coran explained. “After all, if we can readily change our appearance, then why should we judge others based on theirs? Who knows, we might have to take their form one day.”

He shrugged. “We were taught this process of thinking, anyway,” Coran said. “That doesn’t mean it took hold with everyone. There were always a few who believed Alteans were better than the rest of the universe, but they were few in number and greatly outmatched by those who did not judge. Personal judgmental thoughts were one thing, opening speaking those judgments was considered highly disrespectful to both the other species and to Alteans.”

“After the Great War began, however,” Coran said, “much of that changed. Alteans quickly learned to hate the Galra for what they’d done to the royal family and many innocent Altean lives. Men, women, children, almost everyone participating in the juniberry festival at the capitol died from the attack. We didn’t bother hiding our judgement of the Galra after that. Perhaps that is where Alfor’s command stemmed from,” he suggested, glancing at Hunk.

The yellow paladin considered the suggestion for a moment before shaking his head. “No,” he said. “Lance said it happened before the war. He said the reason why he was chosen instead of Lauma wa-”

“Lauma?” Coran said in surprise. “She was never a choice to be the Sentinel. It was always supposed to be Lance.”

“That’s not what Lance said,” Hunk said.

Before Coran could argue, Shiro held up a hand. “Okay,” he said calmly. “What did Lance say happened?”

Hunk flushed. “He said Alfor didn’t choose Lauma because she was in love with a Galra.”

Coran scoffed. “Lauma?” he said. “Preposterous. She was too independent to let herself be tied down to anyone except her family.”

“Well Lance said Lauma was in love with a Galra and that’s why Alfor rejected her,” Hunk said firmly. “He said Alfor found Lauma’s relationship ‘unacceptable,’” he said using air quotes. “He wouldn’t say why he thought Alfor found it unacceptable, just that he did.” He sighed in mild annoyance. “He wouldn’t tell me who the Galra was either. He really needs to lay off the secrets. You all do. _We_ all do. They’re not doing us any good. It’s just causing more and more problems.”

“But that…”

Hunk glanced at Coran whose face was scrunched in befuddlement. The advisor was clearly having trouble accepting what he’d just heard.

“But Lauma never… I would have noticed…”

“It’s okay, Coran,” Shiro said, patting the confused advisor on the back comfortingly. “We all miss things.”

“But it doesn’t make sense,” Coran insisted. “Who was Lauma with and why would Alfor reject her for it?”

“I doubt we’ll ever know,” the black paladin said grimly. “We shouldn’t dwell on it.”

Shiro cherished the few minutes of silence that followed that conversation. That is until he noticed Hunk twitching and looking around nervously. “Hunk?” he asked, startling the yellow paladin. “Was there something else you wanted to ask?”

Hunk’s entire form drooped. “Shiro,” he began, “when… If you have nightmares of the bad things you saw, how would you deal with it?”

Shiro sat up straight and stared at Hunk seriously. “Why?” he asked.

The yellow paladin’s shoulders drooped further. “Because… Lance said he has bad dreams about that night his family died,” he admitted finally. “He said he keeps dreaming of watching them die, of doing nothing, and holding one of his sisters in his arms as she dies. It… I don’t think he’s handling it very well and I was wondering if you could give me some advice to pass on to him when I see him.”

Shiro blinked, then visibly wilted. “There really isn’t anything I can say that would help,” he said slowly. “He talked to you about it, that’s good. Talking tends to help me.” He glanced up and shared a smile with Coran. “But other than that, I don’t know what to say.”

“Besides,” the advisor spoke up suddenly, “you have to remember: for you, Altea has been gone for over 10,000 standard periods. For us, that time is much shorter. As far as my memory goes, the royal family was murdered a mere ten standard turns ago followed almost immediately by the Great War. Everything is still close and immediate for Allura, Lance, and myself. Our wounds are still fresh in our minds and souls.”

Both Hunk and Shiro looked away sadly.

“Well,” Hunk said eventually, “on the bright side, Keith finally said the three magic words to Lance.”

“Did he now?” Shiro said, meeting Hunk’s gaze with a warm smile. “I’m proud of him. Let’s hope it was well received.”

“Considering I haven’t heard any yelling or crying or stomping out yet, I think it’s a good bet they’ll be fine,” Hunk said.

“I’m sorry,” Coran said. “Forgive me, but what three magic words are you referring to?”

“‘I love you,’” Hunk answered with a grin.

“Ah,” the advisor said, nodding sagely. “Yes, I’m sure that will be handled with care one way or the other.”

“Let’s hope for the better,” Shiro said.


	37. Turritella: eases domestic relations and group interaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Pidge demands answers and gets more than she bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Ok. Y'all wanted answers, here are lots of answers along with angst, emotions, feels, and yelling. Lots of yelling...

Allura took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Her green paladin looked up at her with wide, worried eyes and asked, “You okay?”

Allura gave Pidge a weak smile and placed a hand on the paladin’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Not yet,” she said. “But I will be.” She nodded as if to convince herself of her own words and stood, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. “Right now, I need to check on the others. We have things to do.”

“They can wait,” Pidge said, watching the princess fix her hair and straighten her dress so she somewhat resembled her usual self. “Everyone deserves a little crying now and then. It’s healthy.”

“Maybe,” Allura said. “But I’m not the only one who needs to cry and now is not the time.”

“Shiro is a mess,” Pidge said sternly, standing from the bed and shooting the princess a glare. She crossed her arms and planted her feet. “Last I heard, Hunk was taking care of Shiro, and Coran was with Keith. That was last night. It’s been hours since then. Who knows how they are now.”

“Precisely,” Allura said, nodding. “That’s why we need to make sure they’re all alright.” She sniffed and wiped her nose as inconspicuously as possible. “I can cry later.”

Pidge huffed and rolled her eyes but nodded anyway. “Okay,” she said. “Why don’t we start with Shiro first? I’m sure he’d appreciate-”

“Where’s Lance?”

Pidge put a tight lid on her temper and somehow managed to say in a relatively calm voice, “Last I saw, he was on the bridge piloting the Castleship away from the exploding star.”

“But we aren’t moving now,” Allura said thoughtfully. “We haven’t been moving for a while, so he must be resting.” She moved to her bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway when the door slid open.

“Why are you so worried about him?” Pidge said, hurrying after the princess.

“Because he’s my brother,” Allura said like the answer was obvious. “He would do the same for me or any of us.”

“Like hell he would,” Pidge grumbled.

The princess stopped in her tracks and turned to the green paladin with a stern look in her turquoise eyes. “What do you mean by that?” she demanded.

“I mean like hell Lance would care about us as much as he cares about you,” Pidge said angrily. “Particularly Keith. You weren’t there. _You_ didn’t see what he did to Keith before he took off and left us on Earth until the Red Lion came and got us.”

“And what did he do?” Allura said, narrowing her eyes.

Pidge, unafraid of the princess’s anger, crossed her arms and glared right back. “He rejected Keith,” she hissed. “He said he was going to kill Keith after Keith helped him escape the battlecruiser. He said he never saw Keith as a life partner. He threw a temper tantrum a five-year-old would be proud of and then ran away like a fucking coward. And _then_ he turns around and attacks us with purple lightning bolts. Like, what the fuck! Since when could he do that? Why didn’t he do that when we needed that? Like on the Balmera? Hm? Why now? And you want to know the _best_ part? Even while Lance was fighting us, Keith tried to defend him. _Keith_ tried to _defend_ Lance. _That’s_ what Lance did. So you tell me, princess. Would Lance worry about anyone but you? Hm? Would he? Would he _really?”_

Allura stood still, her gaze frigid and furious. “Are you finished?” she said in a cold tone.

“For now, yeah,” Pidge said angrily. “I’m sure I can come up with more reasons but I’m too mad to think of them right now.”

“Good. Now you listen here, Katie,” Allura said, startling Pidge when she used the green paladin’s real name. “Don’t you ever talk about my brother like that, ever again. I don’t care if you’re a paladin or if you’re an Altean or the personification of Voltron itself. _Never_ talk about my brother like that. Now, as for Keith, if you were the one captured-”

“My _family_ is already captured, lady,” Pidge snapped. “My dad and my brother are both still captives of the Galra.”

“Alright then,” Allura purred. “If you found out where your family is being held and all you had to do was pretend to befriend a Galra and get him to bring you to them, would you kill that Galra when you were done with them or would you let them live and possibly let them raise the alarm?”

Pidge stuttered. “That- This has nothing to do with me. That’s completely different!”

“Oh yes?” Allura asked. “Then how about if someone you barely knew knocked you unconscious and put a tattoo on your neck for all to see that labelled you as theirs in every way that mattered? You’re essentially their possession now, and everyone in that person’s culture knows it. And _in_ that culture, that person is of the highest caste and has the right to control you, tell you what to do, where to go, and have sex with you whenever and however they want, whether you like it or not? They did all of that without your knowledge or permission. Would you stand for that?”

“N-no,” Pidge said awkwardly. “Besides, that'd be pedophilia in my case.”

“Pedo- No, no new words right now,” Allura said quickly, dismissing the confusing word. “The point is, that’s _exactly_ what Keith did. Whether he meant to or not, whether he actually thinks like the majority of the Galra culturally or not, doesn’t matter. He still mated my brother without his knowledge or permission and _thankfully_ Lance cares about him.”

Pidge scoffed. “Cares my ass. If he cared about Keith, he wouldn’t have rejected him.”

“I doubt Lance meant to reject him,” Allura said.

“Of course you would,” Pidge said. “You’re his sister. You’re supposed to think the best of him. You’re both siblings, you’re both family, you’re both Altean, you’re both in cahoots on just about everything, Lance just about killed all of the rest of us because _your father_ told him to.”

“That was _not_ my father,” Allura hissed furiously.

“Yeah? Well it sure looked like it, lady,” Pidge said. “And what about that whole magic-purple-lightning-bolt stuff Lance fought us with, huh? You never even mentioned that.”

“It’s a Druidic power,” the princess said primly. “The fact he can do that at all is something to be proud of. Back on Altea-”

“Back on Altea,” Pidge groaned. “I got news for you, lady, Altea’s gone. G-o-n-e. Gone. So stop dwelling in the past and focus on the present. The Galra are here now. Zarkon is here now. _We,”_ she gestured to herself and the other paladins’ bedroom doors lining both sides of the hallway, “are here now. Maybe you should start thinking about that.”

“Don’t push me, Katie,” Allura said softly.

“Don’t call me that!” Pidge shouted suddenly. “Only my Mom and my Dad and my brother have the right to call me that. Not you.”

“Then don't talk about my brother that way,” Allura said calmly, clasping her hands together in front of her.

Pidge sneered. “Look at you. Always taking your baby brother’s side. He’s an angel. He's perfect in every way-”

“The quiznak he is,” Allura said. “He’s nowhere near perfect. He’s obnoxious and ridiculous and I love him that way. Yes, he has his problems. We all do-”

“Problems?” Pidge cried. “You didn’t see Keith when Lance was through with him. Keith was completely unresponsive. And when he _did_ finally start responding, he was singing Lance’s praises. _Your_ brother is _abusing_ Keith and I am fucking sick and tired of _watching_ it happen!”

“This isn’t the best time to-”

“Oh, the best time to what? Talk?” Pidge scoffed. “Newsflash, lady. It’s _never_ the best time to talk. There will never _be_ a ‘best’ time to talk. There’s just time and, quite frankly, I’m running low on patience and therefore running low on time. So for god’s sake, you’d better start explaining. And I don’t mean just this little mess either. I mean this whole shitstorm. Everything. What the frak is going on here?”

Allura looked thoroughly confused. “I…thought we were arguing?” she said, suddenly unsure.

“No. No-duh we’re arguing,” Pidge groaned. “I mean this whole shitstorm with the Galra! And Lance! And you, and this ship-Castle-thing, and the Lions, and Voltron, and just _everything!”_ She threw up her hands  in exasperation. “I’m _done!_ I am _so_ done with this whole thing. I don’t know jack-squat about what’s going on here. All I know is Galra equals bad, except Keith, who’s good, and Altean equals good, except Lance, because he’s an asshole-”

“Watch it,” Allura warned.

“Dude, _watch me, bitch!”_ Pidge shouted. “I know so little about you and Lance and Coran, and Keith too, now that I think about it. I know so fucking little about this whole war thing that I feel like a puppet who just follows orders. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, princess, but I am _not_ a soldier who just follows orders for the heck of it.”

“Uh, actually,” a new voice said softly from behind Allura. Startled, both girls turned to see none other than Hunk, Shiro, and Coran, leaning out of Shiro’s bedroom, wearing identical sheepish expressions on their faces. Hunk cleared his throat and continued. “Actually, you followed orders at the Galaxy Garrison whether you liked them or not.”

“That was different,” Pidge argued. “I signed up for that to find out what happened to my father and my brother.”

“But, playing Devil’s advocate here,” Hunk said, holding up his hands in a placating manner, “isn’t that what you did when you became a paladin too? You know, to figure out what happened to your family and save them? _And_ the universe too?”

“Well,” Pidge hesitated. “Yeah. But I haven’t heard shit about my family except what Shiro told us, so it’s not like I’ve gotten much out of this.”

“This isn’t about getting anything out of this,” Shiro said suddenly. “It’s about doing what’s right.”

“Well what about what’s right for me, huh?” Pidge demanded. “Anyone think about that? What about my brother? Last I heard, you cut him to keep him from fighting like a fucking gladiator.” Shiro flinched and Pidge immediately tried to soften the blow. “Which I’m grateful for, by the way. Matt can’t fight worth a crap, so you probably saved his life. But still, the fact remains that you had to do that in the first place.”

Pidge turned the full force of her glare back on the princess. “The Galra came to _our_ solar system, kidnapped _my_ family, _tortured_ them, and then you and your brother show up with Coran with the Excalibur of the universe to rid the world of Zarkon and the Galra and you _really_ think that’s not even the slightest bit creepy or convenient? Like what the fuck, bitch? What started this oh-so-great war 10,000 years ago, hm? What _really_ happened?”

“Pidge-”

“No!” Pidge shouted. “No, Shiro. I heard that A.I. father of yours telling Lance to kill Keith just because he was a Galra,” she said turning Allura. “Don’t think for a second I missed that. It took _that_ for me to see that I’d basically just been taking everything you’ve said for granted without ever hearing the other side of this. Sure, what I’ve seen the Galra do is horrible and unacceptable. But it’s been 10,000 years! How do I know it wasn’t always like this? How do I know things didn’t _become_ like this over time? There isn’t a single country or empire that stayed one hundred percent true to their original purpose or laws when they were created. Every single one of them changed. And even if they didn’t change, _something_ must have happened to create that country or empire in the first place.”

“God,” Pidge groaned, running her hands through her already messy hair. “Even the Nazis had their start because the Germans were feeling victimized by the Allies after World War 1, particularly by France. I mean, you gotta admit the whole Treaty of Versailles was a load of bullshit. Blaming just Germany for the whole war when anyone with any sense knows there were other countries that were just as responsible-”

“Pidge,” Shiro cut in. “That has nothing to do with-”

“ _My point is,”_ Pidge yelled over the black paladin, “that the Nazis came to power because they felt like it was the best choice at the time. True, not everyone agreed with that idea. And true, that idea was dead wrong. Hindsight is always 20/20, after all. But what about the Galra? You said yourselves that the Galra were your allies. So what changed? What could have been so horrible that the Galra would suddenly turn on you and start killing you? And why didn’t anyone come to help you? Doesn’t any of that seem the least bit suspicious? Anyone?”

She dropped her arms slapping them on her sides in the silence that followed her rant. No one spoke. Everyone looked shocked. Pidge sighed and slumped.

“Okay, then why don’t we start with something simple,” she said, propping her hands on her hips. “Like the previous paladins. Who were they? What were they like? What race or species or whatever were they? Were any of them Galra? Were any of-”

“The black paladin was a Galra.”

Pidge stiffened and aimed a glare at the speaker. The others in the hallway looked surprised by Lance’s appearance. Especially with Keith awake and standing next to the prince in Lance’s bedroom doorway. Lance leaned against the doorjamb and sighed, meeting Pidge’s gaze tiredly.

“He was the leader of Voltron, a loyal friend, and a great leader,” Lance continued. “People of all species would have followed him to their graves. He was a proud, powerful man.”

“The black paladin was…” Shiro whispered, his face white as a sheet.

Lance ignored Shiro’s shocked words and forged onwards. “Joonah was the red paladin. She was Teiidae as was the green paladin, Halyn.”

“Teiidae?” Hunk asked in a nervous voice.

“Nyma is Teiidae,” Lance said, tilting his head towards Hunk without breaking Pidge gaze. “They’re a race of females only who tend to live solitary lives. They reproduce asexually, but that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy the act of sex itself. If they do decide to replicate the act, the one that plays the female will produce eggs to lay and raise while the one who plays the male won’t produce any eggs. Joonah and Halyn were occasionally sexual partners when one of them wanted to mother a clutch.”

“Lance,” Coran said softly.

“Sanye was the yellow paladin,” Lance continued, ignoring the advisor. “He was Altean and the strongest of the paladins physically, aside from the black paladin, but had the biggest heart. He couldn’t stand to see anyone or anything hurt. I heard so many stories about the team having to drop what they were doing to help a young lin that was still learning to fledge or a flower that had been trampled.”

“Then there was Tayla, the blue paladin,” Lance said, finally dropping his gaze to the floor. “She was Altean and a good friend. She enjoyed swimming and had an incredible ability to adapt to almost any given situation with ease. She had a motherly demeanor and was slow to anger. But when she _did_ get angry, my only suggestion was to run as fast as you could in the opposite direction.” He bit his lip. “She died at Zarkon’s hands. I… I don’t know how most of the other paladins died although I’m sure it wasn't peacefully.”

“Most?” Pidge pressed. Lance avoided her gaze and Pidge narrowed her eyes, thinking over the prince’s words. “So,” she said, “what about the name of the black paladins? Don’t think I didn’t miss you omitting him. Who was he?”

“Lance…” Allura said gently.

Lance shifted, tilting his head to Keith who reached up to grip the back of his neck. Curiously, the move made the tension in Lance’s shoulders ease somewhat. “I’d rather not say,” he said.

“Yeah? Well fuck your secrets,” Pidge said. “Look where all of these secrets landed us? What could be so bad about this person’s name? Unless you’re afraid of what we’ll think when you tell us. Why won’t you tell us? Why won’t you just say the bl-”

“Zarkon,” Lance said, lifting his gaze to Pidge unerringly. “The black paladin was Zarkon.”

Pidge stilled, her eyes wide. Hunk paled and both he and Pidge tuned to Shiro who looked like he was going to throw up. Coran reached up to place a hand on Shiro’s shoulder but the former Garrison pilot recoiled from the touch.

“What?” Shiro gasped. “Tell me it’s not true.”

“I can’t,” Lance said, turning his gaze to Keith who looked just as stunned as the other paladins. “You have to understand, Zarkon wasn’t always…as he is now. He was a great leader, a friend, and a good listener. He even taught classes at the Druid Collegium. He taught _me._ No one ever suspected he would possibly change so drastically. But after Lauma died, he…”

“Lauma?” Allura repeated in confusion. “What does Lauma have to do with this?”

“Lauma was Zarkon’s mate, wasn’t she?” Hunk asked grimly.

Lance took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

“That’s impossible,” Allura said. “Lauma would never-”

“Don’t act like you know everything about her, Allura,” Lance said, pinning his sister with an icy glare. “You were just like father: always traveling, always away, always letting him fill your head with ideas… You were barely home as it was. You can’t really be surprised that Lauma never told you she was interested in Zarkon. You weren’t home enough to know.”

“That’s not fair,” Allura said.

“Everyone in the Collegium knew about Lauma’s affection for Zarkon,” Lance said, rolling his eyes and wincing when his mechanical eyes stung from the movement. “The number of times she would drop in on his classes or visit him in his office were innumerable.”

“I never knew,” Coran murmured, his eyes wide. “I never knew.”

Lance offered the advisor a half-smile. “She was going to surprise everyone at the juniberry festival after Allura was presented as the new Heir. Everyone at the Collegium knew Lauma would be chosen as your Sentinel. But then father rejected her because he didn’t approve of her relationship with Zarkon, and he chose me instead.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Allura said, facing her brother. Her face was a mix of horror and incomprehension. “Father would never do that. He and Zarkon were _friends-”_

“Yes, well, apparently they weren’t,” Lance snapped. “The next thing I know, father’s dragging me to the temples to be purified as the next Sentinel. Then Alwida comes running to me because she’s mad Lauma wouldn’t be at the festival and forced me to carry her back to the green.” He looked directly in Allura’s eyes. “When I got there, father was nowhere in sight and Lauma was arguing with mother about something. I stayed long enough to get Alwida her drink before…”

He swallowed thickly and Pidge saw Keith squeeze Lance’s neck at the same time he leaned close and nuzzled the prince’s neck. Clearly Keith already knew what came next.

“Before the festival began and everyone I knew and loved died screaming,” he finished. “And you want to know the worst part of it? Their corpses weren’t even cold before father declared war on the Galra. Then Zarkon betrayed us and everything went to the Magog. So yes,” he said, turning his gaze back to Pidge, “something did happen to cause this mess, something so terrible that it tore us apart. And yes, I do find some of it suspicious. Someone murdered practically my entire family not to mention the hundreds of innocent people out there with us that night. But I also remember no one coming to our aid, no one but the paladins minus Zarkon because he left us to join the Galra.”

“And yes, I am afraid of what you think of us now,” he continued. “But I honestly don’t give a frak about how you see me because I _know_ how you see me. Because every time I close my eyes and dream, I see the same thing. So before you start lashing out at us for your family’s suffering and how your world has been inconvenienced, why don’t you shut your quiznak and consider the fact Allura, Coran, and I have lost our families, our entire race, and our entire planet only a few standard turns ago by our reckoning. It may have been 10,000 periods or years or whatever the frell kind of time keeping measurements you use, but to us it was only a few turns ago.”

“I’m not belittling your suffering,” Lance said. “But I am reminding you that you’re not the only one inconvenienced. Nor are you the only one without all the answers. The only one who can fill in the blanks is Zarkon and quite frankly, I have no desire to see him face to face.”

He glanced at his sister briefly before dropping his gaze. “Shiro,” he called looking back at the black paladin, “I need you to know… You aren’t Zarkon. The Black Lion didn’t make a mistake. Zarkon was once a friend and an ally. People change. We didn’t tell you because we wanted to protect you from his influence. The Black Lion chose you because your quintessence mirrored hers and she saw something in you that she respected. It wasn’t a mistake.”

* * *

 

Shiro hung his head and his shoulders hunched. Lance wanted to offer some kind of comfort to the black paladin but Keithek held him back.

“Don’t,” Keithek said softly. “Leave him be for now.”

Reluctantly, the prince nodded and allowed himself to be guided back into his room. Keithek paused in the doorway, watching his mate retreat into the bathroom, no doubt to stress himself out. He sighed and glanced out at the tableau in the hallway, particularly at Pidge.

“Thank you for standing up for me,” he said. “But next time, ask first. You’d be surprised how many questions can be answered if you’d just ask the person directly, rather than yell at someone not involved in the matter.” His ears drooped to his hairline as he stepped back into Lance's room. “Good night,” he said, and closed the door.


	38. Apatite: good for communication, highly psychic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Coran decides enough is enough and takes matters into his own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Well, I promised Coran would take charge and that the mind meld helmets from episode 2 would come into play here. Well, here we go~

“Lance?” Keithek called, looking at the bathing room where he knew Lance had retreated to.

Silence answered him like he knew it would. He sighed and made his way to the bathing room door and wasn’t surprised to see Lance leaning against the counter hanging his head over the sink. Lance’s eyes were closed and his shoulders hunched forward.

“Lance?” he said softly.

Lance twitched and squeezed his eyes shut tight before taking a deep breath and straightening. “I’m fine,” he said.

“Lance,” Keithek said, eyeing his mate seriously.

The prince wilted under the stare. “I, um, I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t want to tell you about-”

“I know,” Keithek said nodding. “I wouldn’t have either. For what it’s worth, I don’t blame you. I don’t think it was the best decision to keep that a secret,” he added quickly, “but I understand why you did it.”

Lance sighed and looked away, shaking his head. “Maybe,” he admitted. “But I don’t have the answers they want or need. I can’t tell them why Zarkon betrayed us, I can’t tell them why my family was murdered, I can’t tell them anything except that Zarkon is the enemy now and he’ll kill all of us if given half the chance.”

Keithek hummed. “But you don’t know why,” he said.

“No,” Lance said, slumping. “I doubt Allura or Coran know either. One day he just…” he waved a hand weakly, “changed. He wasn’t my teacher anymore. He changed and-”

“Lance!”

Keithek turned to the prince’s bedroom door in surprise when he heard Coran’s voice. Lance joined Keithek and blinked when he saw the advisor standing in Lance’s open doorway.

“Coran?” Lance asked. “What is it?”

“I need you and Keith to come with me,” Coran said.

“Bu-”

“Now,” the advisor said. When neither Keithek nor Lance moved right away, Coran narrowed his eyes. “With all due respect, that was not a request. Both of you, to the common room, now.”

“But why-”

“Lance,” Coran said sternly. “Common room. Now.”

The prince shut his mouth and immediately grabbed Keithek’s wrist and hurried past the advisor into the hallway, pulling Keithek along behind him.

“That wasn’t exactly what I was expecting,” Keithek said, glancing over his shoulder at the advisor who followed them at a more sedate pace. “Why are we running?”

“Because Coran used _that_ tone,” Lance said, as if that explained everything.

Keithek grimaced and resigned himself to following his mate down to the common room. When they stepped out of the lift, Keithek’s ears twitched, catching the voices of the other paladins. Lance tensed, coming to a standstill. Keithek could guess what Lance felt. He moved up so he stood just behind the prince and reached up to grip the back of Lance’s neck.

“You ready?” he asked softly.

“Not at all,” Lance replied.

Nevertheless, Lance began walking again and Keithek followed closely. When they stepped into the common room, the other paladins fell silent and looked up at them with expressions varying between hatred and sympathy. Lance ignored all of them and took a seat as far away from Pidge and the other Humans as he could. Keithek sat down on Lance’s right and began to get comfortable.

A soft squeaking sound made Keithek’s ears twitch curiously until they zeroed in on the source. Keithek looked over to his left where Allura sat, her colorful mice settled in her lap. Rover beeped and floated over the princess’s shoulder to hover between the green and yellow paladins, aiming its camera eye at Keithek. It was almost disconcerting.

“So,” Hunk said in the awkward silence. “Anyone know why Coran ordered us here?”

“I ordered you to come here,” the advisor said, stepping out of the hallway Keith and Lance just entered from and carrying a box in his arms, “because I’ve had about enough of these fights and disagreements and misunderstandings and just…everything. So,” Coran said, “I’m going to have all of us participate in a training exercise.”

“A training exercise?” Pidge snarled. “Really? After everything we just-”

“Yes,” Coran said, interrupting. “And if you’d let me finish, Pidge Holt or Pidge Gunderson or whatever name you prefer, you’ll understand.” The advisor aimed a surprisingly stern glare at the green paladin, stopping her argument in her throat. “Now,” he pulled out headpieces that resembled metal headbands with embedded crystalline stones in them, “each of you will put on one of these helmets. I will as well. Take one and pass it around,” he said, handing the box to Hunk.

Keithek watched the yellow paladin glance around at the group nervously before picking up one of the headpieces and putting it on his head. Hunk blushed from embarrassment but didn’t remove the device.

“What are these?” Keithek asked hesitantly when Hunk passed the box to him next.

“I’ll explain when they’re all on,” Coran said, placing his own headpiece on and adjusting it so it fit comfortably. “Now put yours on, please, Keith.”

Disconcerted, Keithek obediently picked up a headpiece and slipped it on his head. It did make him feel a bit stupid, but he wouldn’t be the only one wearing one of these so it didn’t bother him too much. He passed the box to Lance who copied Keithek’s actions before passing the box to Allura.

When the box finished passing around the room, Coran took a seat between Pidge and Shiro. “Good,” he said. “Now, I want all of you to listen to what I’m going to say and do exactly as I tell you. Am I clear?”

“Coran?” Shiro asked, picking at his helmet uncomfortably. “I don’t mean to… I don’t feel comfortable with this.”

“Oh, believe me, Shiro, you’ll feel much less comfortable when this is over,” Coran said firmly. “But that is the point of this exercise,” he added, looking around at the paladins. “We’re going to ask each other questions, any questions you want. But,” he said holding up a finger to forestall any questions, “each person can only ask one question at a time, and whoever they ask a question to must ask them a question in return. You must all answer honestly. We’ll know if you lie.”

“Uh, how will you know that exactly?” Hunk asked. “Not that I’d lie,” he said quickly, waving his hands. “I just mean that, you know, how would you know if, theoretically, one of us lied?”

“The helmets are used to meld minds,” Coran answered, nodding to Hunk in acknowledgement. “Your answers will become visible to everyone whether you answer out loud or not. We’ll all know the true answer as well as anything else the person answering is thinking.”

“But that’s…” Keithek sat back, fingering his helmet in mild fear. “No offense, but that sounds a bit intrusive.”

“Then maybe the lot of you should have considered that before we ended up in this situation in the first place, hm?” Coran said. “Now, I’ll go first. Whoever I ask must answer honestly. Whatever they think will be visible and audible to us all. Once a truthful answer is given, you can ask me or whoever you wish whatever you want in return and we must answer honestly as well. And so on. We’ll go around in a circle asking questions and answering questions until we run out of questions or I say we’re done. Is that clear?”

No one spoke up, not even Allura. Satisfied, Coran nodded and looked at Keithek. “Keith,” he said, “why did you decide to help Lance escape from the battlecruiser when you first met?”

Keithek hummed and glanced at Lance who had bowed his head, his cheeks flaming in shame from the memory. Keithek winced and looked away only to freeze, stunned by what he saw in the middle of the group. A holographic image of what he saw when he first met Lance in the prison cell played in full view of everyone sitting on the couches around him. The words Lance had said came back to Keithek’s mind just as they rang out for all to hear from the holographic image in the center of the room.

 _“You’re the Altean,”_ Keithek had said.

 _“I could be,”_ Lance had replied. _“But then again, I could be a Galra.”_

Keithek felt his mouth drop open when Lance’s holographic form shifted to that a Galra, a smug expression on his face. The view, the sound, everything was from Keithek’s perspective, as if seen directly through Keithek’s eyes.

“I…” he began, trying to find words past his shock. “I knew what he was doing,” he said as the scene continued to play out in front of everyone regardless of Keithek speaking. “I knew he was using me, but I… No one had ever submitted to me willingly before.”

The image of Lance grinned and Keithek felt a flood of heat fill his mind. That grin was something he’d come to attribute to the prince’s sultry side. It was insanely attractive and, judging from the looks on the others’ present, they were suddenly very aware of Keithek’s attraction to Lance. The red paladin ducked his head in embarrassment only to notice Lance staring at him with an expression of stunned awe.

 _“Then why the needle?”_ Lance’s image asked. _“Didn’t think you could handle me without knocking me out first?”_

Keithek didn’t have to hear the thud of memory-Lance’s body striking the wall of the cell. He could still remember the feel of his hand around Lance’s throat, squeezing it in warning.

 _“Hardly,”_ Keithek’s memory said. _“You’re not too hard to subdue.”_

Memory-Lance struggled briefly in memory-Keithek’s hold before pausing and tilting his head back in submission. Keithek could remember the sight, the smell, the feel of everything in that moment without the aid of the image projected in front of him. He also knew that everyone in the room were also experiencing the same sensations he had at the time. An intense blush burned his face and his ears pinned against his head with the sheer force of his embarrassment.

But he had to answer Coran’s question or the memory wouldn’t stop unfolding in front of everyone. It wasn’t their business. It was a memory he wanted to keep to himself for his own enjoyment. The faster he answered, the faster the memory images stopped.

“I wanted to help him escape because he-”

 _“We’ll die anyway with or without Zarkon,”_ memory Lance said as the scene changed abruptly, startling Keithek. _“Well I choose to die free without Zarkon. What do you choose?”_

Keithek swallowed and lifted his gaze to stare at the image of Lance. The memory Lance still had both eyes but his right was bruised and swollen almost completely shut. However, the force of that gaze still bore directly into Keithek’s mind and heart.

“I...” Keithek gulped. “I want to be free,” he said, repeating the same words he spoke that day in Lance’s cell.

The memory Lance smiled in what Keithek had come to recognize as something gentle that Lance very rarely showed others. _“Then let’s get the quiznak out of here.”_

The memory image vanished when Keithek answered Coran’s question, taking with it the sounds and smells and sensations Keithek remembered from the event.

“Good,” Coran said, nodding to the red paladin with an encouraging smile. “Now it’s your turn. Ask anyone here a question, whatever you want, and they’ll answer honestly.”

Keithek blinked and nodded absently as he tried to decide who to ask and what to ask who. His wide yellow and violet gaze settled on Pidge and he licked his lips nervously.

“Pidge,” he said. “Why do you think… Why do you dislike Lance?”

The green paladin flushed and the memory image in the middle of the circle flickered to life again. This time it showed a small, handheld device Keithek remembered Pidge holding when he arrived back on Earth before Pidge locked him and Lance together in the pod.

 _“Sterile,”_ Keithek’s memory voice said. _“When you told me you were sterile.”_

Keithek flinched, his ears flattening against his head. He quickly looked at Lance whose face had become ashen.

 _“I’m not leaving you. I won’t ever leave you. Especially not over something like sterility. You’re my mate,”_ Keithek’s memory voice said.

Keithek hid his face in his hands.

 _“This is ridiculous,”_ Lance’s voice said. _“I don’t even love you, I don’t think.”_

Keithek blinked. Wait, that wasn’t how the conversation went.

“Because Lance is a jerk,” Pidge said, crossing her arms in a huff. “I heard you both. I was listening to you two talk. I heard everything. You were apologizing and Lance threw your apology back in your face.”

 _“I propositioned Nyma,”_ memory Lance’s voice said.

Lance stiffened next to Keithek and the red paladin instinctively gripped the back of his mate’s neck and squeezed.

“You’re _still_ doing that,” Pidge said angrily, glaring at Lance. “Even after everything he’s done to you, you still treat him like he’s perfect in every way. Why? For heaven’s sake, he’s abusing you! Don’t you _see_ that?”

“Pidge,” Shiro said. “That's no-”

“Shiro,” Coran said suddenly. “As much as I know you want to talk, I’m going to have to ask you to be silent. This isn’t your question so you can’t answer.”

“But-”

“No.” The advisor gave the black paladin a faint smile. “Wait your turn.”

Keithek hesitated, thinking over everything he’d experienced, everything he’d felt, everything he knew about his relationship with Lance. He looked at the Altean prince sitting hunched over like he was trying desperately to vanish into the couch next to him.

“Yes,” he admitted finally. “Yes, I do see that. But I also know that at least part of this is my fault.”

“No it’s not,” Pidge argued.

“But it is,” Keithek insisted.

“Okay, fine, it is,” Pidge said. “But even if that’s true, he has no right to treat you like that. He’s yanking you around like you're nothing but a tool to him, he flirts seriously with someone other than you, he tells you to your face that he doesn’t love you, _attacks_ you-”

The memory image changed to the night before. Lance moved across the bridge, vanishing and reappearing, firing purple bolts of quintessence at the paladins. Even Keithek in the fragile state he’d been in at the time wasn’t spared from the vicious attacks.

Keithek stared at the memory without fear. He watched through Pidge’s eyes as Lance obeyed every command the A.I. Alfor gave him. He watched a blast of yellow energy blow Lance into the wall as Pidge fell from the possessed prince’s grasp. Then he watched himself change, fury filling his gaze as he leapt forward to attack the paladins when they prepared to fire at Lance again.

“-and you keep defending him,” Pidge finished. “He’s hurting you and you don’t see it. _Why_ won’t you see that? And what was with that ‘kill him and you kill me too’ dramatics?”

Keithek didn’t answer right away. Instead, he watched his memory self continue to attack his fellow paladins without regard for their safety or his own. He couldn’t remember doing this, but watching it now he knew it wasn’t a lie. This was…

“A blood rage?” he whispered. “I went into a blood rage?”

He watched as memory-Lance stopped Keithek’s memory self from attacking Hunk, holding him back only to be electrocuted by Pidge’s bayard. Keithek flinched at the sight.

“Is…is that what that was?” Lance asked softly.

‘I…” Keithek swallowed. “Yes.” It was. “I don’t remember…”

“Keith!” Pidge said, her voice breaking through the memory image, snapping Keithek back to the present. “What about the 'kill him and you kill me too' thing?”

“Uh, that was it,” Keithek said, nodding to the memory image. “I’m a Galra, or half Galran, but the principle is still the same. Lance is my mate. If he dies or rejects me, then I’ll die one way or another.”

Allura looked down at her hands and the mice sitting there quietly, watching the memory in front of them. The move didn’t pass Pidge’s notice.

“You knew?” Pidge demanded of Allura.

Allura nodded and the memory image changed, showing a Galra couple no one in the group recognized. But Allura clearly knew them if the sad expression on her face was anything to go by.

“The Galra mate for life,” she said. “When they mate someone, they’re essentially binding themselves to that person. If that person dies, then the person remaining will usually go insane or withdraw from everything. Either way, it’s incredibly rare for a Galra to live long after they’ve lost their mate.”

The memory image changed showing the same Galra pair as before but this time, the male was laid out in state while the surviving female stood nearby. The view dropped to the ground as the memory-Allura looked away. Then a cry filled the memory and the view lifted just in time to see the Galra female fall on top of her dead mate, joining him in death.

“She poisoned herself,” Allura said. “That…was the first time I ever saw death in person. There is very little the Galra will hold above their mate. Even the most loyal subject of Zarkon would be hard pressed to obey Zarkon if it meant going against their mate.”

She swallowed thickly and turned her gaze to Hunk. “How did you know Lauma was Zarkon’s mate?” she asked. “Even I didn’t know that. And I’m still not entirely sure I believe it.”

“It’s true,” Lance said.

“Lance,” Coran said, and the prince held his tongue.

Hunk shrugged. “Lance told me,” he said, glancing at the prince just in time to see the memory image change yet again.

 _“She did something Father found…unacceptable,”_ memory-Lance said, gazing down at Keithek’s sleeping face. _“So he rejected her and chose me instead.”_

 _“What did she do?”_ Hunk’s voice said in the memory.

Lance’s memory didn’t answer aloud. He just stared down at Keithek’s sleeping face. It was strange for Keithek to see himself sleeping. It was even stranger for him to see Lance, even a memory of Lance, look at him with such a tender expression. It almost looked like Lance was about to cry.

 _“She fell in love with a Galra, didn’t she?”_ Hunk’s memory asked. _“And your father didn’t like that.”_

“From that and then finding out the former black paladin was Zarkon,” Hunk shrugged. “It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. It just made sense.” He glanced at Lance again and sighed. “And then the whole A.I. Alfor forcing Lance to choose between you and Keith made sense too, If Alfor rejected Lauma for the position of Sentinel just because she was with a Galra, then it made sense that he wouldn’t be happy about Lance being together with Keith.”

“But I spoke to Father and he…” Allura stilled. “Unless he wasn’t himself even then.”

Hunk shrugged. “I don’t think we’ll ever know,” he said reluctantly. “But, I mean, I know Lance cares about Keith and that, even knowing what his father thought of his decision, he still chose Keith over you. That’s pretty impressive, honestly. So yeah, I it just makes sense.”

“But, when did-”

“Look,” Hunk said, holding up a hand to stop Allura’s question. “Let me prove it to you. You said we can’t lie like this, right Coran?” he asked the advisor.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Coran said.

“Okay.” Hunk turned to Lance and said, “Lance, do you love Keith?”


	39. Bustamite: stimulates awareness in dreamwork, helps recall memories, a harmonious stabilizer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance answers, panics, and Pidge is so done with Star Trek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** This contains a detailed panic attack at the beginning which may be confusing to read. Don't worry, that's deliberate. Just read to the end. It'll make sense then. Hopefully.

“No.”

Lance flinched before the word completely left his mouth. He immediately tried to recover his composure and clarify his answer even as Pidge’s face flushed red with fury and Keith sank into the couch next to him, the very image of depression.

“No, it’s not… I didn’t mean,” he stuttered, paling in fear and humiliation. “I don’t mean…”

 _“Take it back, Keith. Please,”_ he heard his voice plead in the memory.

 _“I heard that, and still you chose me when that A.I. forced you to choose,”_ Keith’s memory voice said. Lance couldn’t bring himself to raise his eyes to the image playing out in full view of the room. _“Do you have any idea how much that means to me?”_

 _“I heard you tell me how sorry you were,”_ Keith’s voice continued. The memory skipping around as Lance tried to make sense of his racing thoughts. _“But in all of that, not once did you ask for forgiveness.”_

“I don’t deserve it,” he whispered aloud.

“Lance,” Hunk breathed, sadness and pity oozing from his voice. It was like a dagger to his ears. Even Hunk with his huge heart was disappointed in him.

 _“You didn’t see your face,”_ Lance’s memory said. _“Your eyes… They weren’t…”_

Lance in the here and now shuddered with his memory self, burying his face in his hands. The image of Keith pouncing on him in the pod replayed in his mind even as his words continued to ring in his ears. He could still see those eyes, gleaming in the darkness of the pod with anger and hate.

_“They were so…Galra.”_

He remembered the helpless feeling of being pushed down against the dashboard by clawed hands. Then the sharp sting of teeth clamping down on his neck in a painful bite holding him in place as he tried to brace himself. His feet couldn’t find enough traction and his arms couldn’t find a decent grip to push Keith away.

_“It reminded me of Sendak.”_

_“I like those eyes of yours.”_

Lance froze. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t stop the memories from flooding into his mind and that voice… That despicable voice that haunted his nightmares and every time he looked at himself in the mirror, it rang in his ears. He hated his eyes. They were damaged. They had seen things they should never have seen. Sendak had liked them so much he'd taken one.

Lance could still remember the Galran commander digging his thumbnail into his right eye, screaming as the pain threatened to overwhelm him but unable to escape into the oblivion of unconsciousness. The feel of the sharp nail slicing clean through his eye scale as it ripped his eyeball out was enough to break him. The sensation of the removal and the torn eye scale shocked his system, making his nerves shriek, his skin burn, his breath stutter to a halt, and his scream increase in volume and pitch. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t stop screaming.

 _“Did they scream as they died?”_ Sendak’s voice echoed through his head, ringing like some hell-forged gong.

_“Laaa…cgh.”_

He whimpered.

_“’Wida? ‘Wida! What’s wrong? What’s-”_

Screams. So many screams.

 _“I think you stayed to watch them die,”_ Sendak’s voice purred in Lance’s ear just like it had that day.

_“’Wida! ‘Wida, please. It’s me. It’s me. Please, please stop. Sto- I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Don’t- Stop! ‘Wida please, please.”_

Sobbing. Someone was crying. Was that him? He shouldn’t be crying. Not now. It was his fault. Alwida was suffering, _dying_ in his arms and it was his fault. That drink… What had been in it? Why won’t it stop? Why is this…

Wide blue-gray eyes stared up into his. Blood and saliva and organic slop that was once skin and tissue stained the red sleeves of his ceremonial robes. He shouldn’t have come. He should have stayed in the temples. But Alwida… If he’d stayed, then Alwida would have died.

She already was.

Her mouth was a bloody, raw mess that just worsened as his precious baby sister tried to claw at whatever was causing her pain and _eating her face_   _off_. But it wasn’t working. Her voice was nothing but a hoarse gurgle punctuated by gagging and rivulets of blood and what was once skin. Her eyes were bloodshot and one was melting onto her face where the poisonous liquid had splashed onto it.

He held her and screamed and pleaded. He couldn’t leave her. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t stop screaming.

_“Did you enjoy it?”_

No. No, no, no no nononono. Alwida! Don’t- Stop. Please just make it stop! Stop! _Stop!_

_“You knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you Altean.”_

Sendak’s voice accused him of everything he wondered about in his secret thoughts.

_“I bet you don’t even know the meaning of loyalty.”_

You’re wrong.

_“You disgust me.”_

I disgust myself.

_“You’re the Druid.”_

I’m a Druid. I can fight this. I should be able to stop it. Why can’t I stop it? Why couldn’t I save her? Why couldn’t I save them? Why couldn’t I stop it? Why didn’t I stay at the temple? Why did I say ‘no?’

_“I’m sure he’s licking the palm of your hand like the despicable halfbreed he is.”_

Don’t talk about Keith like that. He’s ten times better than you’ll ever be.

_“And yet he’s still nothing to you despite his undoubtedly impressive attempts to rise to your expectations.”_

That’s not _true!_ He’s not nothing. Don’t talk about him like that. You have no _right!_

_“We’re much more alike than you care to admit, little prince.”_

You’re lying.

_“Look at your reflection.”_

I don’t have to. I know what I’ll see.

The memory of my own reflection on Sendak’s prison pod superimposed over Sendak’s face is always in my mind. This feeling, this cold, was this what I made Keith feel in the pod? Did I cause this?

_“I like your eyes.”_

…Lance…

_“I care about your opinion of me more than I thought I did.”_

I said that. It was true. I do. I do care. I’m sorry.

_“Lance, I’m so sorry.”_

No. No, don’t. Please.

_“I know that wasn’t you.”_

I _do_ know. I just…

_“You were **terrified**.”_

Of course, I was. Your eyes were so cold. You wouldn’t let me get away. It hurt. I don’t understand. What did I do? I don’t know what I did. It terrifies me.

What? What terrifies you?

I think I’m in love with you.

And that terrifies you?

Yes!

Why?

I’m broken. I’ve lost so much. I don’t… I can’t lose you too. You’re mine.

…what?...

You’re _mine,_ Keith. Mine.

Yours?

Yes.

You’re…claiming me?

 Yes!

Then come back to me.

Come…back?

Yes.

From where?

From your mind. This isn’t real.

…what? What do you mean?

_“I like your eyes.”_

Don’t listen to it! It’s not real, Lance. It’s not real. It’s not really there. Sendak’s gone. He’s dead.

That’s what they said last time. He came back.

Not anymore, Lance. Not anymore. Not ever. Shiro spaced him. He won’t be back. He’s dead. What you’re hearing is nothing but a memory. A bad dream. You have to come out of it.

How? How do I-

Follow my voice.

But it’s everywhere!

Last night, I told you your voice is like the call of wake angels. Have you ever heard them before, Lance?

…Keith?

Yes. Good, you recognize me. Now, wake angels. Have you ever heard them before?

N-no. I’ve seen drawings of them in books in the Collegium but never h-heard them before.

They sound like this.

Softly at first, like a whisper. Sad, lonely, beautiful. Like a song without a clear tune. Breathy like a woodwind but reverberating in his mind like the string of a phorminx. It was harmonic, melancholic, lyrical, everything Lance never knew he needed to hear.

He blinked and his gaze was filled with the familiar darkness of space. But it wasn’t a void. Creatures the likes of which Lance had only ever seen drawn in books danced across the bow of the battlecruiser. Diving, swirling, climbing, spinning, dancing through the vacuum of space were spectral creatures that were almost completely transparent. Their bodies were wide and flat with long, trailing tails. They looked a lot like the giant manta rays on Earth.

Earth?

The song ebbed and flowed to an unheard beat, drawing him in. It was lovely and ever so sad.

_:Not sad. Yearning, perhaps. But not sad.:_

The creatures skin glimmered iridescent in the light of the battlecruiser and the nearby nebula. So many colors, it was almost too much to take in. They changed with each ripple of their bodies. And the calls, the song… It never stopped. It beckoned, pleaded, and urged Lance towards them. Closer. He wanted to get closer.

They were beautiful.

He was transfixed by them. He had never seen anything as beautiful as these creatures. These… These were-

_:Wake angels.:_

They’re beautiful.

_:Not as beautiful as you.:_

He ducked his head flushed as a wave of embarrassment and disbelief flooded his senses. But he couldn’t keep his eyes away for long before they inevitably returned to the wake angels. The magnificent creatures continued to move through space, skimming the dark, metallic hull of the Galra battlecruiser. The entire forward view screen was filled with the wake angels as they danced and left trails of ephemeral crystals on the hull and view screen. If those crystals could be collected, then they would fetch a high price in the trading market.

But their song was the soul of everything. It was quickly becoming something Lance didn’t know if he could live without.

_:You can listen to it whenever you want, Lance.:_

_:Keith?:_ Lance asked, quickly slapping a hand over his mouth when he realized the words hadn’t been spoken aloud.

But his hand didn’t move from his side. He could have sworn-

 _:This is my memory,:_ Keith’s voice said. _:I didn’t move my hand that day. I could hardly move at all. I could barely even breathe. I had never seen something so beautiful or heard something so entrancing in my life.:_

Lance agreed. _:They are beautiful,:_ he thought, gazing up at the wake angels through Keith’s eyes.

_:But not as beautiful or as entrancing as you.:_

He wanted to look away, to melt into the floor in sheer embarrassment and shame. _:You’re wrong,:_ he murmured.

_:I’m not.:_

Lance sighed. _:I may be beautiful but my heart is anything but.:_

 _:I wish you could see yourself as I see you,:_ Keith’s mental voice whispered softly, longingly.

Then he was. Standing there in front of Lance was…Lance. This was Lance’s bedroom in the Castleship the night after they freed the Balmera. The green aurora borealis swirled across the night sky on the view screens behind Lance’s memory form. The blue jacket Lance has worn that night was hanging on the memory’s shoulders over an unbuttoned white shirt.

A scent Lance didn’t recognize filled his nose. It was a spice and musk that…was his?

 _:It’s one of my favorite smells,:_ Keith’s voice said, bringing an intense blush to Lance’s face. _:It always gets thicker when your emotions are more intense. It’s also one of the reasons why I want to take you here rather than in my quarters.:_

Lance gasped. This was a memory. That explained why the Lance he was looking at was so…ethereal. There was no way this was real. But still, if Keith was right and this was Keith’s memory, then that meant this was how the red paladin saw Lance.

 _:It is,:_ Keith said softly.

The prince shivered. _:Why do I look so…:_ he wracked his mind, looking for a word that fit his desire but was not-

_:Beautiful?:_

Lance shrank in on himself.

_:You are beautiful, Lance. But your eyes, both of them, then and now… They’re the most entrancing thing about you.:_

Lance winced and took a deep breath and fought the urge to lose the tenuous hold on these lucid thoughts.

 _:I will overwrite everything that bastard has done to you,:_ Keith swore, _:until you can only think of me. Until I can tell you how beautiful your eyes are without losing you to him. Until you know without a doubt that you belong to me and I belong to you.:_

That would take a while.

 _:I can wait,:_ Keith said, a smile audible in his voice. _:I understand why you said what you did that night about the juniberry,:_ Keith said.  _:I didn’t understand then, but I do now.:_

 _:How?:_ Lance asked in a soft whisper. _:I never-:_

 _:Coran told me,:_ Keith replied. _:I figured it was the same for Allura before Coran told me, but I didn’t know that was normal for your entire race.:_

Lance shrugged. _:It doesn’t matter,:_ he said. _:The juniberry doesn’t exist anymore. There’s nothing we can do about it.:_

Keith’s mental voice sighed. _:I didn’t want to tell you until I had it in my hand as proof, but I think you need to hear this now when neither of us can lie.:_

 _:I don’t lie,:_ Lance said in mild annoyance.

 _:Not outright, no,:_ Keith agreed. _:But you keep much to yourself.:_

Lance bowed his head as his face flamed from shame. _:I never meant to hurt you,:_ he whispered.

 _:I know,:_ the red paladin’s voice said. _:Which is why **you** should know, the juniberry plant still exists. I’ve asked Rolo to retrieve it for you.:_

What?

_:What?!:_

Lance froze. It felt like the floor had suddenly been ripped out from under him. That couldn’t be…

_:What do you mean it still exists? Keith, explain!:_

Lance could hardly believe his ears, er, mind. _:Allura?:_ he gasped.

 _:Oh, you can hear me too?:_ Allura asked.

The scene in front of Lance changed abruptly, the colors swirling like ink dropped in water. When the image settled, he recognized the view from the capitol’s Spire towering high above the tallest building.

_:Woah! Where is this?:_

What in the quiznak?  _:Hunk?!:_ he gasped.

 _:Oh, hi Lance,:_ Hunk said. _:Don’t mind me. Just enjoying the view. Where is this?:_

_:It is beautiful.:_

By the Lions, Shiro too?

_:It’s a regular party.:_

Lance stiffened. Pidge.

 _:There had better be a good explanation for this,:_ he growled.

_:As near as I can figure it, Allura is currently in charge of the meld.:_

Lance nearly choked when he heard Coran’s voice. He had to lean forward and grip the railing running along the edge of the balcony encircling the windy top of the Spire. But when he looked down at his hands, he blinked. These weren't his hands.

 _:They’re mine,:_ Allura said.

Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What in the quiznak was going on here?

 _:But nevermind that now,:_ Allura said in an urgent tone. _:Keith! What were you saying about the juniberry still existing? What do you mean by that?:_

 _:What is going on?:_ Lance demanded frantically.

Keith rolled his shoulders and, shockingly, so did Allura’s avatar standing on the Spire balcony which, in turn, meant Lance shrugged too. This was insane.

 _:I mean, I asked Rolo to find a juniberry for me,:_ Keith said simply. _:He said they still existed and I asked him to find one for me.:_

 _:That’s what you traded for,:_ Lance murmured.

 _:Yeah,:_ Keith admitted reluctantly. _:It… I wanted to keep it a secret until I had it so you would believe me, but I guess this works.:_

Allura shook her head and, by extension, so did Lance and probably everyone else too. This was confusing. It was getting seriously difficult to discern who was who, whose emotions were whose, and who was speaking or moving when.

 _:You’re telling me,:_ Pidge grumbled. _:Don’t get me wrong. This is cool and all, but geez. Talk about information overload.:_

 _:I think the more important question right now is, how do we get out of it?:_ Shiro said, his calm voice soothing the group’s frayed nerves. _:Coran, any ideas?:_

 _:Well, yes,:_ the advisor said. _:But I think it would be best if you figured it out on your own.:_

 _:What?:_ Hunk cried.

 _:You can’t be serious,:_ Lance moaned.

 _:This is a bit personal, Coran,:_ Keith said.

 _:Yeah,:_ Pidge said. _:I mean, I’m still not sure how I feel about all this. Shouldn’t there be a privacy button or something?:_

 _:Ah, no,:_ Coran said. _:This is a mind meld; a very good one actually. I’m incredibly impressed. I never thought you all would succeed in merging your minds this deeply on the first try. Granted, it took Lance having a panic attack to kickstart the process, but it still worked.:_

 _:So, getting out?:_ Hunk pressed. _:Yeah? Please?:_

Coran sighed loudly and everyone could feel his annoyance.  _:No, Hunk,:_ he said. _:I won’t help you out of this one. I’m here to make sure no one hurts themselves, but otherwise I’ll just answer questions and help if I’m needed. Consider this a team building exercise.:_

 _:I thought we were playing some mental version of 20 questions,:_ Pidge groaned. _:I don’t want to be in Lance’s mind. Or **anyone’s** mind for that matter.:_

 _:This isn’t any one person’s mind, Pidge,:_ Coran said. _:This is everyone’s mind at once. Whoever’s personality is dominant at the moment, which is currently Allura, will have control over the visuals. But otherwise the sensations, thoughts, feelings, everything will be felt and experienced at all.:_

 _:Coran,:_ Shiro said cautiously, _:this is all well and good. But some things are better left private.:_

 _:Then learn to control your thoughts, Shiro,:_ the advisor said. _:That’s just as important as learning to share your thoughts.:_

 _:Can we see those wake angels again?:_ Hunk asked suddenly. _:Please?:_

Lance groaned. _:How much did you all hear?:_

 _:Everything,:_ Pidge answered promptly. _:It’s one of the reasons why I want out of this. If you and Keith start mind fucking, I do **not** want to have any part in it. I’m still mad at you.:_

Lance wilted. _:Still?:_ he asked in a small voice.

 _:Uh, yeah,:_ Pidge said. _:You just said you don’t love Keith. Why **wouldn’t** I be mad?:_

Keith sighed and the view returned to the bridge of the Galra battlecruiser with the wake angels flying across the view screen. _:That’s not what I heard,:_ he said. _:Or felt, for that matter.:_

A warmth like a fire kindled in Lance’s chest, melting the chilly core at the root of his being.

 _:Hunk, why don’t you try asking your question again,:_ Coran suggested.

 _:Uh, last time I asked that, Lance lost it,:_ Hunk said. _:I don’t make a habit of trying to give people panic attacks, Coran.:_

Lance definitely wanted to slink into a dark room and hide away from everyone, Keith especially. The prince could barely understand what he was feeling let alone what in the Lions’ name was going on around him. He’d apparently tumbled headlong into a panic attack, pulling the others with him.

Keith had been the one to catch him before he completely lost himself. Keith’s comforting presence and soothing words had helping Lance from the crumbling edge of sanity and back to safety. Keith had offered up his memory of the wake angels and their beautiful song that Lance would remember for a long time to come. Keith didn’t have to do that. He did it because he wanted to. Keith did it because he loved Lance.

 _:I think I love you,:_ he murmured.

The warmth returned tenfold, nearly knocking Lance off his feet.

 _:I know,:_ Keith said. _:I love you too.:_

 _:Oh my god,:_ Pidge whined. _:Save me from the mushy and Vulcan mind meld madness, please! Somebody!:_


	40. Pyrite: increases memory, concentration, & spiritual and psychic abilities for students

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Keithek "explains" mating, Lance is a jellyfish, and Coran is an efficient wake-up alarm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I'm going to try updating my fic _Shadow Relations_ as well as this series at the same time. This means I may have to start alternating update days. Just a friendly fyi. I haven't decided his firmly yet, but it's an idea.

_:Well, on the bright side, it’ll be easier to answer questions now,:_ Hunk said with a shrug, causing the Allura avatar to shrug which inevitably resulted in everyone shrugging. _:Ah, sorry about that, guys. My bad.:_

 _:Okay, so we’ll have to keep physical movement to a minimum when we talk,:_ Shiro said calmly. There was an edge to his voice, but it didn’t sound like fear or anger so much as discomfort.

 _:Yeah, that won’t be easy,:_ Hunk grumbled. _:I’m an expressive guy.:_

 _:Humans are expressive, Hunk,:_ Pidge spoke up. _:I heard there was this study once where scientists kept people from using their hands while speaking by tying their hands down. Almost everyone struggled to form sentences or talk freely. Many even forgot what they were saying and started stuttering.:_

The view of the wake angels vanished in a swirl of color and sensation, replaced by a decently sized room. There were two windows on one wall covered by blinds, rows of shelves lining the adjacent, featureless wall, and a door to another room and more shelves on the third wall. The fourth wall looked slight less sturdy and was made of several horizontal panels that hinged together forming what looking like a wall-sized foldable door. There were even windows on the panel second from the top.

 _:A garage?:_ Hunk asked.

They all looked around at the room curiously.

 _:What’s a garage?:_ Keith asked. _:Is it like a small hangar bay?:_

 _:Something like that,:_ Shiro answered. He must have smiled because they all smiled and a feeling of fondness flooded their senses. _:It’s where lots of people park their cars, hovercycles, and other vehicles.:_

 _:Not in **my** lab, they aren’t,:_ Pidge said.

They moved over to one of the many tables set up in the garage and flicked on a light. Everything seemed a bit larger than normal. Was everything oversized or…

 _:Pidge, is this your memory?:_ Hunk asked.

The green paladin grumbled. _:Yes. And don’t say anything about my height.:_

_:You’re short.:_

_:Goddamnit Lance!:_

_:I speak the truth,:_ the Altean prince said without shame.

 _:Stop smirking,:_ Pidge snarled. _:I know you’re smirking because I am too.:_

 _:Guys, focus,:_ Shiro groaned.

 _:Focus,:_ Keithek murmured. _:Hey, wait. I have an idea.:_

_:What is it, Keith?:_

_:So we can’t get out of this,:_ Keithek began, _:but maybe we can use this. Pidge, you asked why I would die if Lance died.:_ Everyone’s mood suddenly plummeted at the reminder, but Keithek wouldn’t stop. _:I tried explaining it but maybe showing you would work better,:_ he said.

Again, the atmosphere swirled this time settling on a hangar of a Galra battlecruiser. Blaster fire filled the space as the Galran sentries advanced on their hiding spot. The looked up and felt their heart drop. Hope was just out of reach. Looming above them, just behind a control pedestal, was the Red Lion. Except the Red Lion was enclosed in a red tinged particle barrier. Lance couldn’t lower the shield. They couldn’t get out.

There was only one thing left to try.

 _“Do you trust me?”_ they asked, turning and holding out their hand to the Lance conjured up by Keithek’s memory.

For a moment, they thought they’d gone too far by asking that. But then the memory Lance said, _“Yes”_ and took their hand.

They hit a button on the pedestal and the hanger door behind them opened. Instantly, the entire hanger depressurized. They held on to the pedestal as long as they could. When the last sentry flew past them into the tangled slipstream outside, they tried to hit the button again to close to door.

They’d miscalculated. By holding onto Lance with one hand, preventing his companion from flying out into the slipstream with the sentries, and their other hand occupied by clinging to the pedestal. If either of their hands let go, they would lose something. Jurt it all, they hadn’t thought this through. They couldn’t breathe.

Then something smashed into their hand and the choice was taken from them. They blinked and suddenly the hanger was ahead of them and the tangle white light and energy that was the slipstream surrounded them. The silence was so loud their eyes were ringing. The vacuum made the saliva in their mouth and the moisture coating their eyes begin to boil. They couldn’t breathe.

They were going to die.

They’d been so close to freedom.

The memory Lance swung into their view, mouth open in a silent scream, and his free hand covering his eyes as the pain of the moisture boiling hit him too. It was for naught. They were ticks away from smashing into the slipstream and being torn apart. No one ever survived that experience to tell about it, but they knew it would by anything but painless.

At least they wouldn’t die alone. They tugged Lance towards them, the lack of friction making the maneuver easy. When the prince was within arms’ reach, they pulled him close and clung to him. They vaguely felt arms wrap around them too. They were scared. They didn’t want to die.

Father.

An image of a Galra male with a rugged face, sideburns, white streaked ears, and a well-trimmed beard flashed almost too quickly before their eyes.

Mother.

Tan skin, platinum blond hair, and blue eyes flew across their vision like an afterimage.

They would never see them again.

They were going to die here.

At least they wouldn’t die alone.

Forgive them.

They opened their mouth, feeling the saliva inside begin to boil the instant it was exposed to the vacuum, and bit down hard on the slender, tan neck in front of him.

Emotions rushed through them, seeking, finding, binding, and securing. Some of their quintessence brushed that of memory Lance, locking onto it and attaching the tiniest sliver of their own quintessence to Lance’s, effectively binding their fates as one. They would always sense Lance’s presence. They would always know if Lance was in pain. They would know if he died. The agony of the loss would literally kill them. If they somehow managed to survive the initial shock, they would lose all sense of self and actively seek out their own death. Even if it meant taking others with them.

They would never be able to see Lance the same ever again. This could never be done again. There were no second chances. There was nothing after this. This couldn’t be taken back. It was permanent.

Did it matter?

They were both going to die anyway.

A flash of red, then nothing.

* * *

 

_:That…wow.:_

Hunk was lost for words. The sheer magnitude of emotions that had swept over him in that brief memory was intense and left him shaking when it receded.  So that was what Keith meant. Talk about mates for life.

 _:We do mate for life,:_ Keith said. _:Nothing comes before a mate.:_

 _:I’m not sure how I feel about feeling attracted to Lance,:_ Pidge said. _:Even if it’s just a memory and not even my **own** memory, it’s freaking weird.:_

 _:Still,:_ Shiro murmured. _:I knew you were mated, but I had no idea it was something that intense and personal.:_

 _:Yeah. Allura’s reaction to it makes so much more sense now,:_ Hunk said, remembering the princess practically screaming at the black paladin.

 _:I did think we were going to die,:_ Keith said, and guilt washed over the group. _:I had no way of knowing the Red Lion would choose me as her paladin and save us.:_

 _:You’re awfully quiet over there, Lance,:_ Pidge said. _:Not going to contribute?:_

Had they been in the real world, Hunk probably would have knocked the back of the green paladin’s head.

 _:Hey!:_ Pidge exclaimed. _:I heard that.:_

Rolled his eyes and instantly knew everyone else had as well. _:I get the feeling even Lance wasn’t aware of how deep this whole mating thing went and he’s on the receiving end of it,:_ Hunk said. _:Give him a chance to take it all in.:_

 _:It’s fine, Hunk,:_ Lance said suddenly. _:I’m not… I’m not mad about it so much anymore. I’m past that, I think.:_

He was. There was no anger or fury that Hunk could feel from the sea of emotions ebbing and flowing around him and in him. If Hunk didn’t know better, he would have guessed Lance felt… Was that adoration? Awe? Affection? Lust?

_:Yes.:_

_:No, no, Pidge, no,:_ Hunk said quickly, sending as many negative vibes at the green paladin as he could. _:No way are you making my ears bleed here. Not happening.:_

 _:Hunk, if you can’t feel the very blatant embarrassment and lust coming from Lance right now, then you’re fucking blind,:_ Pidge said.

 _:Don’t use that word in this context,:_ Hunk pleaded. _:I’m begging you.:_

 _:Why?:_ Pidge teased relentlessly. _:Fit too well?:_

 _:You’re horrible,:_ Keith grumbled, embarrassment and lust coming off him in waves that were just as strong if not stronger than Lance’s.

No. No wait. Not waves. Flames. Keith’s emotions were like flames. Keith was a fire.

 _:Um,:_ Hunk said, eyeing the fire hovering directly in front of him. How did he not noticed that was there until now? _:Does anyone else see that fire over there?:_

 _:Y-yeah, actually,:_ Shiro said. _:Keith? Is that you?:_

 _:I think so?:_ the red paladin said slowly, obviously confused. _:I’m not on fire though.:_

 _:No,:_ Coran said suddenly. _:But you are the red paladin.:_

 _:And the red paladin draws his power from the Red Lion,:_ Allura said, her eyes widening causing everyone else to do the same.

 _:Okay, so what does that have to do with anything?:_  Pidge asked, confused but intrigued.

 _:The Red Lion is infused with the quintessence extracted from the desert and volcanoes of Altea,:_ Allura explained. _:It is the guardian Lion of fire. It’s one of the reasons why Keith’s body temperature is higher than ours.:_

 _:Honestly, I just thought that was a Galra thing,:_ Pidge said.

 _:Yeah, me too,:_ Hunk agreed.

 _:But wait, if Keith is fire then does that make me earth?:_ Pidge asked. _:You know, because I’m green.:_

 _:No. The Green Lion’s quintessence was extracted from the forests of Altea,:_ the princess answered. _:The Yellow Lion’s quintessence was extracted from the earth and stone.:_

 _:Really?:_ Pidge asked. _:Huh. I mean, it makes sense. I guess I just always associated the color yellow or white with the element of air.:_

 _:No, that would be the Black Lion,:_ Allura said.

 _:Oh, yeah, the big red wings,:_ Hunk said, nodding. _:Should’ve thought of that.:_

 _:Don’t worry, Hunk,:_ Shiro said. _:It took the second time forming Voltron to think my… element, I guess, was air or wind.:_

 _:In that case, the Blue Lion is definitely water, if we’re following this elements theme,:_ Pidge said.

 _:She is,:_ Lance said. He must have smiled because Hunk could feel a fond smile stretching across his face at the moment. _:Her quintessence was extracted from the mountain glaciers and the deepest oceans. That’s why my body temperature is colder than usual.:_

 _:Yeah, about that. Our body temperatures aren’t going to change, right?:_ Hunk asked warily. _:I mean, just a few degrees hotter than our current temperature and that means we’re sick. A couple degrees lower and we are not only sick, but probably dying too.:_

 _:So delicate,:_ Lance teased.

 _:Pot, meet kettle,:_ Pidge said.

And a pot and kettle poofed into existence in front of their eyes. It literally poofed. Hunk heard the poof.

 _:I don’t understand,:_ Keith said, staring at the kitchen equipment in bewilderment. _:What do a pot and a kettle have to do with anything?:_

All three Humans groaned, leaving Keith and the three Alteans still confused.

 _:It’s not important, Keith,:_ Shiro said. _:Pidge was just giving Lance a hard time.:_

Hunk nodded, and so did everyone else. Then he felt the black paladin’s interest in him heighten. Suddenly self-conscious, the yellow paladin shifted, causing everyone else to do the same. The scenery abruptly morphed into the rugged landscape Hunk knew by heart and missed with everything he had, thoroughly distracting him from Shiro’s attention.

 _:Kilauea,:_ he said, turning in place to take in the full view of the volcano. Some of the area closer to the vent were dark and without vegetation, but the further from the rim of the volcano, the more greenery there was.

 _:You’re a boulder,:_ Shiro said, startling Hunk.

 _:I’m a what now?:_ he asked.

 _:Sorry, it’s just… I see you as a boulder,:_ Shiro said. _:Looking at you now, I see a large, sturdy rock like the ones at Stonehenge, but with moss on it.:_

 _:Oh.:_ Hunk considered the observation as well as the positive emotions he felt from the black paladin. _:I take that as a compliment.:_

 _:Say I’m a tree and I might have to hurt you,:_ Pidge grumbled, crossing her arms in a huff. Naturally, her movement caused everyone else to copy her, only increasing the intensity of her sulk.

 _:Don’t worry, Pidge,:_ Keith said. _:You’re not a tree.:_

_:Thanks Keith.:_

_:Nope,:_ Lance agreed. Hunk felt the blue paladin’s mood shift to something sly and cheeky and winced in preparation for the oncoming storm _. :You’re a short tree,:_ Lance said cheerfully.

 _:Take that back, you stupid seahorse!:_ Pidge shouted.

 _:What’s a seahorse?:_ Allura asked. _:Is it an animal of some kind?:_

 _:What’s the word for a short tree?:_ Lance drawled lazily, completely ignoring Pidge’s growing anger. _:Ah, a shrub! Pidge is a shrub.:_

 _:Listen here, you little shit,:_ Pidge growled.

 _:Guys!:_ Shiro shouted over everyone in exasperation. _:Stop teasing each other. Lance, stop taunting Pidge. Pidge, please try not to curse.:_

 _:Fine,:_ Pidge said with a huff. _:But Lance is a jellyfish.:_

 _:Pidge,:_ Shiro groaned and everyone facepalmed with him.

 _:Was that an insult?:_ Lance wondered.

 _:I don’t…think so?:_ Keith said.

 _:It’s true, though,:_ Pidge said, throwing her hands up in the air with everyone else. _:When we form Voltron, I always see him as a tsunami or a jellyfish. Tsunamis are too awesome for Lance to be associated with them-:_

_:Hey!:_

_:-so jellyfish it is,:_ she finished with a proud nod.

 _:What the quiznak is a jellyfish?:_ Keith asked, shaking his head.

 _:I would like to know the answer to that too, actually,:_ Coran said.

 _:If I show you, will you get us out of this Vulcan mind meld thing?:_ Pidge asked.

Coran harrumphed. _:Nope, sorry. I don’t want to know that badly.:_

Everyone groaned in unison.

 _:This is ridiculous,:_ Lance mumbled.

 _:What if we showed you what jellyfish are, then formed Voltron?:_ Hunk said. _:Would you help us out then?:_

When the advisor hesitated, the rush of hope and anticipation smashed into Hunk from all sides. Everyone wanted out.

 _:That might be a good idea, Coran,:_ Allura said, startling Hunk. _:As much as I agree, this exercise is useful, we’ve had a lot going on in the past couple days and sleep is vital to the paladins’ health.:_

 _:Yours too,:_ Lance said.

 _:Oh, very well,:_ Coran said after another moment or two of consideration. _:Show me these jellyfish, then form Voltron, and I’ll help you all out.:_

 _:I’ve got this one, guys,:_ Shiro said.

Hunk sat back and watched as the setting melted into a long, transparent tube that wound its way through a huge fish tank. This must be an aquarium. Hunk looked up and saw the water above and around him. Far above, a light source sparkled through the deep blue water bouncing off the colorful scales of fish swimming in schools and the occasional shark. Then the tank changed and instead of fish and sharks, jellyfish floated around him. Only the transparent surface stood between him and the hundreds of orange to yellow colored jellyfish.

 _:Wow,:_ Keith murmured. _:They’re beautiful.:_

 _:And deadly,:_ Hunk said. _:Those ruffles and strings dangling from them aren’t just for looks. That’s how they capture prey. The fish get caught in the tentacles which sting them and paralyze them. Then they eat the fish.:_

 _:That thing?:_ Lance gasped, pointing at the jellyfish. Hunk found himself making the same motion, but it strangely didn’t bother him as much anymore.

_:Yep.:_

_:This is from my last trip with my parents before they went on their last mission,:_ Shiro said, a soft smiling tugging on all of their lips even as sadness tingled their sense.

 _:On that note,:_ Pidge said, _:let's go form Voltron. Coran, time to let us out.:_

 _:Truly, these creatures are a sight to see,:_ the advisor said, gazing up at the serene, seemingly harmless, bulbous sea creature floating around them still.

_:Coran!:_

_:Goodness. Don’t shout so loudly, Pidge,:_ Coran said. _:I can hear you just fine.:_

 _:Voltron? You going to get us out of this mind meld thing so we can go form Voltron?:_ the green paladin asked, ignoring the advisor’s words.

Coran huffed.  _:Of course not. You'll form Voltron in here and **then** I'll let you out.:_

 _:What?: Lance_ cried.

 _:How are we supposed to do that?:_ Shiro asked, trying to be reasonable.

 _:You can't just keep us in here,:_ Keith said upset.

 _:How do we form Voltron like this?:_ Hunk exclaimed. _:We don't have our Lions.:_

 _:Yeah!:_ Pidge chimed in. _:That's not fair._ _:  
_

_:Ah, paladins,:_ he moaned. _:Alright, you lot. Visualize your Lion. Make it appear in front of you.:_

Hunk furrowed his brow and focused on the Yellow Lion. Her steadfast strength, her friendly personality, and her constant belief in him. He didn’t bother fighting back a smile when a holographic image of her materialized in front of him.

 _:Now,:_ Coran said, _:urge your Lion towards the others and form Voltron just like you would if you were flying them.:_

Hunk willed the image of his Yellow Lion to move forward. He had no idea where the other Lions were, but he believed the Yellow Lion would find them. Sure enough, not a second later, the Black Lion appeared followed by the Blue, the Green, and the Red Lions all moving towards each other. Hunk wasn’t sure what would happen when the Lions met in the middle, but he trusted they knew what to do. They had to form Voltron.

They _would_ form Voltron.

A gust of wind buffeted him, carrying with it a frost that nipped his nose, heat that warmed his hands, and the smell of leaves and wood. He stood strong feeling his Yellow Lion roar in his mind. He blinked and there, hovering where the Lions had been, was Voltron.

This time, everyone smiled because they all wanted to.

 _:Well done, paladins,:_ Coran said, pride evident in his voice. _:Now, here’s how you get out. Are you listening closely?:_

A chorus of “yes sirs” and “yes Corans,” echoed in their minds.

 _:Good.:_ Coran cleared his throat. _:WAKE UP, YOU DUNDERHEADS!:_

“Holy fucking shit!”


	41. Sapphire: goal motivator, strengthens loyalty, promotes good judgement, allows good decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which shrooms and Vulcans are trippy, Team Voltron gets the juniberry talk, and Allura finds out about Lance's side of the deal with Rolo and Nyma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Good news and bad news. Bad news: this is the last chapter of _Crystal_. Good news: the sequel _Mirror_ begins next! There will be one more chapter of this fic, but it will be a teaser chapter. The teaser will be posted at the same time the first chapter of _Mirror_ is posted and added to the _Warmth_ series. _Mirror_ is going to cover the story arc(s) from the last two episodes of season 1 of V:LD. Hope you enjoy~

Pidge ripped off her helmet and threw it at Coran who barely had time to dodge before the device slammed into the couch cushion behind him.

“Never,” Pidge swore. “I am _never_ doing that again. Not unless I’m on shrooms. Then I might actually appreciate it.”

“Shrooms?” Keith muttered.

“Pidge no,” Shiro scolded, rolling his eyes. “No shrooms.”

“Don’t worry, Shiro,” the green paladin said. “I won’t be trying any. I just have to put one of those things back on and I’ll get the same basic experience.”

“I have to agree with Pidge on that,” Hunk said, carefully setting his helmet down on the cushion next to him like it was going to bite him. “That was trippy as crap.”

Shiro groaned and removed his own helmet, rubbing his forehead when he did so.

“It was a little odd,” Keith admitted.

“Odd?” Pidge repeated incredulously. “That’s what you call that whole,” she waved her hands around as she searched for the right word, _“thing_ that just happened? Dude, that was an acid trip from hell.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Shiro said, standing. “We learned a lot.”

“Yes, we did,” Allura said, taking off her helmet and placing it in her lap. She brushed her fingertips through the colorful of the mice resting in her lap. They had been napping during their mind meld adventure but had been startled awake by Pidge’s cursing. “Perhaps doing this every so often would help aid us with our communication problems.”

“That could totally work,” Hunk said. “Instead of sitting there trying to figure out how to explain something we take for granted and never had to explain before or just something that’s difficult to explain, we could just put those things on, do our Vulcan mind meld thing, and _show_ you what we’re trying to say.” He looked at Shrio and shrugged. “You’ve got to admit, it’s useful.”

“I agree,” the black paladin admitted. “But I say we at least _try_ to explain things before resorting to this,” he patted the helmet. “I get the feeling we may learn more things about each other than just the answer to a question.”

“That’s very true,” Coran said, holding his helmet in his hands. “Any thought or emotion  you have, however fleeting, will be out there for whoever else in the mind meld to see and feel. But, I have to ask, what is a Vulcan? You seem to use this word often. What is it? Is it a thing?”

Pidge snorted. “It’s a species from an old Earth sci-fi TV show called ‘Star Trek,’” she said.

“Yeah, they’re super interesting,” Hunk said, grinning broadly. “They had pointed ears, like you do, but they're highly logical and rational, almost to the point of apathy.” He rolled his shoulders and reconsidered his words. “Well, not apathy, I guess. More like-”

“Vulcans were somewhat telepathic and could share memories, experiences, emotions, all of that by inducing a mind meld,” Shiro said. “It could be forced, but that was rarely the case. Mind melds work both ways.”

“Yes,” Lance said nodding. “Once a door is open, anything can enter from either direction.”

Keith glanced at him and Pidge got the distinct impression she was missing something important. Oh well, it wasn’t too important. She still wasn’t comfortable with the state of Lance and Keith’s relationship, but she now knew Lance sort of returned Keith’s feelings. Hopefully that meant those two could stop being idiots and start actually growing their relationship into something more stable and healthy. Speaking of relationships, she looked at Shiro and smirked.

“So, Shiro,” she said, propping her hands on her hips and giving the black paladin a smug grin, “did you really like the view in when Allura was in control?”

Shiro smiled freely, a faint blush on his cheeks as he stared down at his hands. “Yes,” he said softly. “It was beautiful. I’d love to see it again sometime.” He glanced shyly up at the princess who also had a faint tinge of pink in her cheeks.

“You could, you know,” Lance said. “All you have to do is ask. Of course,” he added with a sly wink, “you’ll have to specify what view you found so beautiful: the land or my sister.”

“Lance?!” Allura cried.

Shiro’s face burned so red, it reminded Pidge of the Red Lion’s paint. She snickered.

“Don’t bother,” Pidge said, looking at the princess pointedly. “I felt your emotions too, you know. You _really_ enjoyed that aquarium. It was almost like you _enjoyed_ being in Shiro’s body.”

“Oh my God,” the black paladin moaned. “Pidge, please stop.”

“Or, I mean since Allura’s the girl and Shiro’s the guy,” Pidge said, tapping her chin playfully with her finger, no remorse in her sparkling eyes, “technically it would be Shiro enjoying being ins- OUCH! Hunk!” she shouted, whirling to the yellow paladin.

Hunk stared Pidge down until she slumped in a sulk. “Stop bullying Shiro,” he said. “And for Pele’s sake, stop trying to make my ears bleed. You’re fifteen anyway. How the heck do you know so much about…you know?”

“You really can’t say ‘sex,’ can you?” Lance asked, leaning forward so he could rest his forearms on his thighs and stare at Hunk in amused disbelief.

“I don’t want to,” Hunk said, holding up a hand to block the blue paladin’s face. “Someone’s got to be the clean one here.”

“Yeah,” Pidge said. Then she smirked. “Space Dad’s too busy ogling the princess to be clean.”

She grunted when Hunk bopped her on the head again. Honestly, it didn’t hurt either time Hunk had smacked her; it was the fact he actually did it that shocked her. Hunk was just too innocent. It was endearing. He really was a great friend.

Lance snorted. “Space Dad.” He snickered. “Didn’t we decide Allura was Space Mom?”

Pidge grinned, straightening proudly. “Yes we did,” she said. “And we all know what parents do when they’re-” she ducked Hunk’s next gentle blow, “alone in the bedroom.”

“Pidge!” Shiro said, turning his wide, dark gray eyes to the green paladin in a desperate plea for mercy.

The effect of the look was so intense that it hit a soft spot in Pidge’s heart. She’d have to work on finding that soft spot and hardening it. But for now, she supposed she would offer mercy.

“Fine, fine,” she grumbled with a careless shrug. “I had my fun. I do have one serious question, though,” she said, turning her gaze to Coran who honestly looked like he was going to bury his face in his hands. “What’s so important about this juniberry plant? I mean, I got that it was important and that it had something to do with relationships, but what does it do exactly?”

The advisor sat up and studied the green paladin’s expression, looking for any signs that she was trying to tease or poke fun. When he saw none, he relaxed and sat up to speak.

“The juniberry and the Altean race are symbiotic,” he said. “One can’t exist without the other. Or,” he corrected quickly, “we can, but not for long, and our lives wouldn’t be whole.”

“How do you mean?” Hunk asked, grasping on the chance to learn something new.

“The juniberry plants feeds on Altean quintessence,” Allura said. “It also uses it to aid in fertilization. It only grows where Alteans are. If the Alteans in the area were to move somewhere else, then the juniberries they left behind would eventually die out from starvation and lack of fertility.”

“The same is true for our side of the symbiosis,” Lance said, glancing at Keith as he spoke. “Without the juniberry, all Alteans are born and continue to be sterile and impotent. We can’t feel or experience arousal no matter what the circumstances. Even if we did have sex,” a small smile twitched his lips up at the corners when he saw Hunk wince, “nothing would come of it. Without the juniberry, our race would simply die out from lack of children.”

“How does that work exactly?” Pidge asked, plopping down on the back on the couch so her feet rested on the bottom cushion.

“The flower contains a compound Alteans require for fertility,” Coran said. “It does other things too like help prepare the body for pregnancy, helps keep up healthy, and affects our mental and emotional states as well. Alteans who went long periods without the juniberry were often more prone to depression, anxiety, decline in self-worth, as well as other problems.”

Pidge’s face began to slacken in understanding. She could see Hunk coming to the same conclusion from her peripheral vision.

“Like I said before,” the advisor said, “we can live without the juniberry plant. It just won’t be a full life. We simply aren’t whole without it.”

“So Keith finding this plant is a big thing,” Hunk murmured.

“A lot bigger than I first thought,” Shiro said, looking around the room at the Alteans with renewed awe.

Allura blushed when Shiro’s gaze settled on her and looked down. “We’re fine, Shiro,” she said, mustering a small smile. “We’ve been fine until now and we’ll continue to be fine.”

“Especially now that Keith’s found the juniberry,” Lance said, turning to his mate with what Pidge could only call a sultry smile that screamed bedroom.

The green paladin rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the couch. “On that note,” she said, getting to her feet, “I’m going to shower and clear my head of that whole shroom-y, acid trip thing and get some sleep. Allura,” she said, stopping at the doorway and turning to glare at the princess, “I swear to god, if you try pulling that false alarm shit on us again, I will personally make sure you wished you’d never met me.”

* * *

 

Keithek watched the green paladin leave with a smile on his face. If Pidge needed or wanted any help making that promise become a reality, he would be more than ready to lend a hand. He was certain he wouldn’t be able to take another false alarm even tonight, or for a good while actually.

Allura sighed. “I’m not that cruel, you know,” she mumbled, and Pidge paused again, turning back to look at the princess. Allura lifted her hands so the mice could scamper up her arms to sit on her shoulders. “I promise I won’t do any training tonight or tomorrow,” Allura said. “Coran and I will be too busy running diagnostics on the Castle’s systems to be absolutely sure the infections is completely gone.”

“Thanks,” Pidge said gratefully.

“I’ll help,” Lance offered. “But while we’re doing that, I need us to go to Meserie. Nyma told me she and Rolo have what Keith asked for.” He smiled at Keithek. “They wouldn’t tell me what it was, but I know it’s the juniberry.”

“So the two crazies did something nice, for a change?” Pidge said, leaning against the wall by the door.

“They weren’t that bad,” Keithek said with a shrug.

“We can do that,” Allura said nodding, ignoring her paladins’ friendly banter. “You can take the Blue and Red Lions down to meet them.”

“Can’t do that,” Lance said, shaking his head. “Nyma doesn’t want their cover to be blown. They do work for the resistance and the last thing they need is for the Galra to catch them talking to the paladins of the Voltron Lions that just flew into plain view of a planet full of traders and information brokers at one of the universe’s biggest trading outpost planets.”

“Besides,” Keithek said, “the juniberry is apparently being used as a drug right now.”

“A drug?” Allura gasped.

“You mean like _medicine_ drug,” Shiro asked cautiously, “or a _recreational_ drug like heroin or cocaine or,” he nodded to where Pidge stood, “shrooms?”

Keithek shook his head. “I’m not familiar with those drugs,” he said to the black paladin, “but the juniberry is used recreationally.” He turned his gaze to Allura and sighed. “According to Rolo, it's deadly. It can give users hallucinations and other side effects, but it almost always kills them.”

“It would,” Coran said grimly. “The juniberry is highly poisonous to anyone other than Alteans. It’s one of the reasons why we never allowed any non-Altean to handle the flower. Every part of it was toxic.”

“Wait, but it never affected you guys?” Hunk asked in surprise. “Not ever?”

“Well, our scholars thought that our two species evolved over the millennia side-by-side to the point we became reliant on each other for our very survival. During that time, Alteans ate the flower, learning to make it into teas, juices, and even salads and could even be smoked.”

“Not on my life,” Allura said firmly. “I’ve heard stories-”

“I’ve _seen_ things,” Lance added.

“And I wouldn’t want to try that,” the princess finished.

Lance, however, titled his head thoughtfully. “I might be willing to try it,” he said, earning him a shocked stared from his sister and advisor. He blinked at them and held out his arms incredulously. “What? Tayla said it wasn’t too bad.”

“Tayla _smoked_ the juniberry?” Allura gasped, holding a hand over her chest as if to protect herself from the very thought.

Lance rolled his eyes. “She was fine,” he groaned. “She said it made her head a bit fluffy and made her skin super sensitive, but other than that she didn’t feel any different.”

The princess was unimpressed. “You will not be smoking anything in the Castle,” she said sternly. “The last thing we need is for one of the paladins to get a whiff of it and have it affect them too.”

The prince blinked, his mouth forming a small ‘o.’ “I didn’t even think about that,” he said. “huh. I guess I’ll to wait until I’m planetside.”

“Lance!”

“Anyway,” Hunk said, trying to herd the conversation back on track, “the juniberry is used as a drug?”

Keithek sat up and picked up where he left off. “Right, um, it’s used as a drug, and this drug is considered one of the lowest kind. Rolo said he refuses to trade it because just having someone _think_ it in his possession, even for a legitimate trade, could ruin his reputation.”

“But he got it for you anyway,” Hunk said. “That took some guts.”

“What did you have to do to convince him?” Pidge asked.

Keithek shook his head. “Nothing,” he said. “I thought he wasn’t going to do it. He was only prepared to get me information on where to find it when I spoke to him in person. He was aware that Alteans were immune to its affects though. That’s apparently common knowledge.”

“And that’s why Nyma needs us to come to Meserie,” Lance finished. “Keith has to be there because it’s his trade and Rolo can only work with him because of that. But I need to be there because I’m Altean and can prove that we’re not just trying to get a drug-”

“But something that’s actually important to your survival,” Hunk said, nodding. “Makes sense.”

The princess nodded, humming.  Then she straightened and eyed her brother suspiciously. “How do you know all of this anyway?” she asked. “Since when did you and Nyma talk? You haven’t been near the comms since you got back to the Castle, and the comms on the pods aren’t anywhere strong enough to reach Meserie from here. And even if they were, there would be a delay between the time it was sent and the time it arrived.”

The prince looked away guiltily and pursed his lips. “I…have my ways,” he said.

“And these ways include what exactly?” Allura asked, narrowing her eyes.

The prince hesitated. “I made a deal with them,” he said, “before they left.”

“What kind of deal?” Allura demanded.

Lance met his sister’s eyes but quickly looked away. Keithek flicked his ears towards his mate and listened closely to the prince’s heartbeat. It was pattering much faster than normal and Keithek could smell the fear and discomfort on Lance. It had a sharp tang to it.

“What did you do?” Keithek asked.

Lance met Keithek’s gaze and managed to hold it longer than he had the princess’. Finally, though, he sighed. “I asked them to spy for me,” he said.

“What was the price?” Allura said sternly. “Lance, what was it?”

Keithek watched his mate struggle with himself for another tick or two before slumping in defeat. “The price was an equal sharing of information,” he said. “But, I gave them a good faith gift.”

“And that was?” the princess pressed.

Lance licked his lips nervously. “Nyma needed a way to communicate with me quickly, efficiently, and securely,” he said. He cleared his throat. “So I gave her a crystal shard and put some of my quintessence in it and let her keep that while I kept a shard with her quintessence in it.”

“You did _what?”_ Allura cried. “Lance, why would you do something like that?”

“It’s perfectly safe,” Lance said, defensively.

“Until someone other than Nyma gets a hold of it,” Allura said. “They could use it to spy on you and you wouldn’t even notice. Lance, this is serious.”

“I’m aware of the seriousness, ‘Llura,” Lance said. “I’m aware now and I was aware then. But it was the best choice at the time. It was either that or something else which was definitely not an option.”

“And that was?” Allura demanded.

“My blood,” Lance answered.

“What kind of sick people would ask for someone’s blood?” Pidge said in disgust. “What are they, vampires or something?”

“I don’t know what a vampire is,” Lance said, “but they were thinking they could use my blood to confirm that I was really was Altean and spread the word more quickly. It would have been used as proof of our continued existence.”

“Which you said no to,” Pidge said.

“Yes,” Lance said, nodding. “I only gave them a tiny piece of my quintessence which I bound in a fluorite crystal and gave to Nyma.”

“That’s-”

“And I have some of Nyma’s quintessence in a shard with me as well,” Lance said loudly. “It was an equal trade. If they try anything, I have Nyma’s quintessence too and I can hurt her much easier than she can me. I’m trained for this, she isn’t.”

Allura sighed and hung her head in dismay. “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she murmured.

“It’s not too bad,” Lance said. “I’ve learned a lot from them. They promised not to share my identity or any of our identities with their contacts. The only reason they need Keith there on Meserie is so they can complete the trade. The original trade for the juniberry was with him. By the trader’s code, only he can accept the item.”

“And they need you to prove he’s not getting a drug,” Allura said with a heavy voice. “Yes, yes, I know. I heard. I _does_ make sense. I just…” She shook her head. “I just don’t like it, is all.”

Lance sighed and stood, walking over to sit by his sister. “I know,” he said slowly. “Neither do I. But I’m working with what we have. And if doing this gets us the juniberry, then I’m more than willing to do it.”

“I bet,” Pidge said with a smirk that had Hunk rolling his eyes.

“I’ll go with you,” Shiro said suddenly, startling the group. When everyone looked at him, he smiled. “You’re my friend, Lance,” he said. “I don’t mind. Besides, if Rolo and Nyma have connections to the resistance than maybe we can start talking about a formal alliance.”

“That would be a good idea, princess,” Coran said. “We could use all the help we can get.”

Allura looked at her advisor, then her brother, then Shiro, then Keithek, the Pidge and Hunk. These were her friends, her family. Keithek could see her mind finally coming to terms with that and accepting it. When she smiled, it was heavy and laden with emotion, but it was honest and hopeful.

“You’re right, Shiro,” she said. “We can use all the help we can get. We’ll start for Meserie in the morning. In the meantime, I’ll have the entire ship on low power mode so we can sleep. If the Galra are detected, the alarm will wake us up. But otherwise, I suggest everyone get a good night’s sleep. I get the feeling we’ll be needing it.”

“Oh yeah, we will,” Hunk said, nodding enthusiastically. “I’m already on my way to my nice, warm, comfy bed.”

“Right behind you, Hunk,” Pidge chirped.

“Lance?” Keithek asked, standing and holding out a hand for his mate. “Would you join me?”

When Lance smiled, it brought a blossom of warmth to Keithek’s chest. Lance leaned over and whispered something into his sister’s ear that brought a hopeful look to Allura’s eyes and a blush to her cheeks. Then he took Keithek’s offered hand and stood. Together they climbed out of the couch circle in the floor and made their way to the lift. His ears twitched when he heard Pidge snicker nearby.

“Hey, Shiro,” she said, just as the lift doors slid open, “I’d follow their example, if I were you.”

Keithek didn’t have to look to see the blush that no doubt filled the black paladin’s face. He already knew it was there. “What did you say to your sister?” he asked curiously.

Lance smiled and leaned against the red paladin. “Nothing,” he said happily.


	42. Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teaser for the first chapter of the sequel _Mirror_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Ok, real quick. I'm having trouble with AO3 right now. I've been trying to post _Mirror_ but I keep getting an Error 500 and it's driving me NUTS!!!! So if it's not available to read tonight, that's why.

Why? Why was it that every time he felt like he was finally going to get a good night’s sleep after a particularly stressful turn, something had to wake him up?

He groaned and did his best to ignore the subtle tickle of his quintessence calling to him. But instead of lessening, it increased, growing more and more insistent until it was practically demanding his attention. Breathing out a soft whimper, he pulled away from the warm comfort of his mate’s embrace and flopped onto his other side so he lay facing his room.

He flailed out with his arm for his bedside table. He missed the first time but his fingers slapped the edge of the table on the second attempt. He blindly felt around for the small carnelian shard he typically kept in his vest pocket when he was up and about. He was not up and about right now nor did he plan to be up and about for another several tocks at least.

When he finally felt the smooth surface of the stone, he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled his arm back into the warmth of the blankets. Reluctantly, he yawned and pushed himself up so his back arched up and his arms rested on the bed. It wasn't the most polite position, but he didn't really care about politeness at the moment.

"I'm here," he said softly. "What is it?"

_:Did I wake you?:_

Lance blinked tiredly up at Nyma's spectral form that appeared a span away from the edge of the bed. He ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "Yes, but it's okay. You wouldn't have done it if it wasn't important," he said. "What do you need?"

Nyma frowned and looked over someone or something nearby, probably Rolo, before returning her gaze to the prince's and speaking. _:We received a message from the leader of the resistance,:_ she said without preamble. _:Our leader wants to meet with you to form the alliance.:_

"I'll ask my sister just to be sure," he said, "but I see no reason why she would refuse. We've already been discussing forming an alliance with the resistance."

Nyma nodded _. :I'll inform our contact here of your agreement,:_ she said _. :When do you think you'll get to Meserie?:_

"Meserie?" Lance repeated with interest. "The trade post?" Nyma nodded and the prince thought for a tick. "If the planet's coordinates haven't changed much from what we have stored in the Castle's memory banks, then we could be there by later today."

 _:Good. Let me know when you arrive and I'll contact you when it's safe to land,:_ she said.

"Safe?"

 _:Lotor is here,:_ Nyma said, watching Lance carefully.

The prince let out a long, shaky breath. "I see," he said.

He hung his head as he considered this new information. If Lotor saw him, it could complicate things. It could make this whole situation too dangerous to pursue. He looked back at Keith sleeping soundly in the bed next to him and couldn't help but smile. So much had happen in so little time. Maybe it was time Team Voltron took this battle straight to the heart of the Galra. Politics were a nasty thing, after all.

 _:Tell Keith we have a way to get what he traded for,:_ she said. _:It won't be easy, but it's the best chance we've got.:_

"I know he traded for the juniberry plant," Lance said.

_:He told you then?:_

The prince nodded. "Did he tell you why he wanted it?" he asked in curiosity.

 _:He wanted it because you asked for it,:_ she said _. :Well, you and your sister.:_

Lance blinked. "He didn't know its purpose?"

 _:No,:_ Nyma said. _:He didn't even known it's considered a drug by most people.:_ She lifted her thin eyebrows and tilted her head in acknowledgement _. :You have a good mate,:_ she said _. :I'd take care of him, if I were you.:_

"I will," Lance said, turning back to his still sleeping mate. "But you said it would be difficult to get the juniberry?"

 _:It will be,:_ she said seriously _. :Not impossible, but difficult. The person who deals the plant in practically all its forms is a female. No one knows what planet she's from or what race she calls her own. She has no loyalty to any power: political, social, or religious. She answers only to herself, her morals, and the Trader’s Code.:_

“Alright,” he said. “Is there anything you need from me?” When Nyma tilted her head in confusion the prince explained. “You’ve given me information. What do you need in return? A trade is an equal exchange.”

Nyma nodded slowly and thought for a tick. _:Buy me a drink and answer some of my questions about Altean culture,:_ she said.

 _:Of course, if you decide to follow through on that little proposition of yours from the other cycle, I wouldn’t be opposed to it,:_ she added with a straight face, followed by a sly grin and sultry wink that brought the prince to laughter.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “Although you’ll forgive me if someone else lays claim first.”

Nyma shrugged. _:He’s welcome to join us. Just because I can’t literally have sex doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the act. Watching is almost as fun as participating. There’s a reason Rolo often uses me as a wingman when he goes hunting for a late night catch.:_

That comment brought a blush to the prince’s face and laughter to his heart. “I’ll ask,” he said between gasping laughter.

 _:Mmhm, I’m sure you,:_ she said. _:Go slick up and get back in bed, boy. You’re mate’s awake.:_

“Slick…?” Lance murmured, his lips quirking up in a c confused smile.

Then the second half of what the trader said hit him and Lance spun around. Keith had woken sometime during Lance’s conversation with Nyma and was watching him with his violet and gold eyes. Keith’s eyes seemed to gleam in the darkness of the prince’s bedroom. They almost looked hungry.

Slick up and go to bed. Oh. Yes. Now it made sense.

 _:Try to get some sleep, lover boy,:_ Nyma said in a sing-song tone before Lance felt the connection sever.

* * *

 

“That’s Meserie?” Pidge asked, staring at the planet filling the bridge view screens.

The planet was tidally locked as it orbited a red dwarf star. The side facing the star looked like a desert of bare rock, possibly even molten rock. The other side of the planet was a dark, frozen wasteland where temperatures were no doubt too low for humans to survive. Honestly, there was no way life could exist on this planet as Pidge understood it.

Yet nevertheless, several spaceships of varying size and shape orbited the planet, most near the poles, and many more smaller transport ships flew between the spaceships and the planet’s surface. They all flew to the same are: a narrow stretch of land situated in the sunset region that extended from pole to pole.

“It is,” Coran said. “It’s changed since I last saw it, though. I suppose 10,000 periods of change would be noticeable on some scale.”

“So the trading post place is in that sunset region?” Hunk asked, pointing to the thin line of dark and shadow. “We’ve found a few exoplanets that have those characteristics in the Goldilocks regions around their parent stars. NASA’s been wanting to send probes to a few for a while now, but they’re all too far away to make it feasible at the moment.”

Lance stood by his sister on the control pedestal in the center of the bridge, his gaze fixed on the planet in the view screen. “It’s busier than I remember it being,” he said.

“It is,” Allura agreed. “When F-Father and I visited last, it was still being established.”

“I remember,” Lance murmured.

After a minute or so, Shiro saw Lance take a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose. This was the moment they had all been looking forward to and dreading. None of them wanted to separate, especially only a few turns after Sendak’s memory and the warped quintessence almost succeeded in tearing their team apart and killing them. But this was necessary if they were going to get everything done quickly and efficiently.

The prince took Keith's hand and squeezed it. "We're ready," he said.


End file.
